Lara and Dave Lowe Proud parents of Joshua.
Hello, we’re Lara and Dave, and we’re the parents of Joshua Lowe - the 15-year-old who developed EduBlocks, a system to encourage kids to learn programming. It became apparent to us when Josh was very young that he had a natural talent for computing and technology well beyond our own capabilities. At the time we had no idea how to help and encourage this, unlike the parents of children who are talented at sports and have plenty of options for training and development groups. When the Raspberry Pi was released and Raspberry Jams were formed, we felt a huge sense of relief; suddenly there was somewhere that we could take Josh to further his skills and talent. We quickly became part of a network of people who could mentor his skills further. We are extremely lucky to have two amazing Raspberry Jams and Makerspaces within half an hour’s reach of where we live, and these soon became a second home. Over the last eight years, being part of this community has taken Josh across the UK and around the world giving him experiences that otherwise would not have been possible. As he was under 16, we always attended the events with him and learnt so much ourselves that one of us went on to become a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator and set up a very successful school Code Club. The Raspberry Jam community has played an integral part in the development of Josh’s passion and drive and has become a way for him to give something back.