ALL schoolchildren in Wales would be taught coding if the Labour Party wins the Assembly election next month, the first minister will say today.

Carwyn Jones will say teaching children such skills will properly equip them for their future life in a speech later.

On a visit to the Sony UK Technology Centre in Pencoed Mr Jones will say: “We’ve made a good start over the last year in setting out a path to the new Curriculum for Wales which includes plans to roll out Digital Competence across the curriculum and developing a new Computer Science subject from the ages of 5-16. Coding skills will be an important part of this.

“Our plan supports that work with a commitment to invest £10m in providing every young person in Wales with access to a coding workshop and plans to extend successful programmes like Technocamps which has helped educate thousands of children about coding and computer science.”

He will add: “We should aspire to make Wales a world leader in coding and digital skills. With the opportunity we have to support the roll out of the new curriculum we can develop the next generation of young people who can not only write code but also gain the deeper understanding of how digital technology works.”