The pupils, coming from Lochfield Primary School, were to select the best game – and, after thorough assessment, awarded first prize to ‘Saving Charles Rennie Mackintosh’ . This very Scottish game features an impersonation of Nicola Sturgeon who calls ‘Fellow Scotsmen’ players to help save the renowned Scottish artist, architect and designer. (See above a screen capture of the game)
The winning team was thrilled and will enter next year’s Microsoft Imagine Cup – a global student app and game development competition. We hope they’ll win – and maybe the Scottish National Party will sponsor their game!
The winning team, from left to right: Liam Cosgrove, Dean Angus, Andrew Crook, Jason MacKinnon
Dean Angus, one of the four members of the winning team, said:
It has been a fantastic day. It was really exciting to see all the kids enjoy our game that we put so much work into. Such a great feeling! As a team, we are extremely happy that we got the award for the best game as it made all the hard work and late nights working on the game worth it!
The College Principal, Audrey Cumberford, helped present the prizes to the winning teams.
Bobby Elliot, Qualifications Manager at the Scottish Qualifications Authority, also attended this assessment day. He was really impressed by the overall project, he said:
The idea worked really well by not only giving students feedback on the software but also engaging young learners in software creation. I really enjoyed the experience and the children appeared to have a great time.
David Renton, Curriculum Quality Leader for Computing, was delighted by the students work and this very stimulating day for both students and pupils. He said:
This competition is a great way to assess our students work as it provides realism to their project. They have a determined release date for their games and know they will have to satisfy ‘real life’ testers. Our students also feed off the enthusiasm of the kids and how much the kids appreciate the games they have created. It’s a very valuable learning experience, especially in team work and project planning.
Lochfield Primary School Pupils testing the games at our Paisley Campus Computing Lab
Not only did our students gain value from this project, it was also very enriching for the primary school pupils. They experienced college life and most of them are looking forward to joining WCS after school. They said:
“It was sooo much fun, I hope I can come again!”
“Beautiful place! Great games!”
“My day was amazing because making games is my dream job!”
“Thank you for letting us play your games, they were so fun. I am going home with a smile on my face!”
“It was amazing hopefully when I'm older I will come here at the College!”
Marie Renton, Deptuy Head at Lochfield primary school said:
The ongoing partnership between Lochfield Primary and WCS, since 6 years now, has great benefits. The visits at Paisley Campus allow our pupils to experience life at College and witness what a fantastic career education opportunity it can be. The different departments at WCS, including Computing, Construction and Beauty, are very welcoming and accommodating. Our pupils leave feeling further education is something they are looking forward to!
Second place team, from left to right: Ewan Miller, Aidan Ferguson, Kyle O’Donnell; and David Renton, Paisley Campus Computing Curriculum Quality Leader
Third place team, from left to right: Craig McCorrisken, Kerr McNicol, Zac Skalley, Lee Cameron, Mark Robertson
Audrey Cumberford, West College Scotland Principal, and the fourth place team, from left to right standing: Ross Thompson, Jordan Rawson, Eugén Cowie, Andrew Callagahan; kneeling: Gary Mulhall