I’ll declare my hand here as I’m involved in a project to make computing exciting. I’m really struggling to understand why we seem incapable of using the amazing online world we now live in to inspire young people in the classroom.

On the same day that Michael Gove announced his U-turn on the scrapping GCSEs – meaning computing won’t now be elevated to a formal science option for English secondary school pupils – the Department for Education issued its latest report on the coalition’s plans to improve the teaching of computing. Reading ‘The National Curriculum in England Framework’ is like reading a list of what we should absolutely not to do to make the subject exciting. The report talks of wanting children to “analyse problems in computational terms” and “evaluate and apply IT – including ‘unfamiliar technologies’ – to problem solving”.

There’s the problem. By describing computing in such cold terms, albeit fundamentally correct, we are in danger of alienating a whole generation of potentially talented pupils from engaging with technology – pupils with the skills that UK plc will require over the coming decades.

Statistics provided by the Department of Education show that just 3,420 A-Level students had taken up computing during 2011/2012, down from a high of 12,529 in 1998, a trend that is mirrored in Scotland where the number of young Scots choosing to study IT/digital media related courses has declined by 13 per cent over the last five years.

Given the role that technology plays in our personal and professional lives, the benefits that it brings, and the employment potential that it offers, we should have young people battering down our doors to further their skills in this area.

IT, technology, ICT or whatever you want to call it has a problem, an image problem. We are simply not making IT ‘sexy’.

The Corporate IT Forum Education and Skills Commission (CIFESC) recently stated that closing the IT skills gap requires input from all major employers, not just those classed as IT sector, and in a review of ICT skills by consultants SQW for Skills Development Scotland it was recognised that students and their advisors (including parents) often have an extremely poor understanding of IT-related careers, and young people commonly hold negative misperceptions as a result. Major ones include that technology is an anti-social subject and the domain of the stereotypical ‘geek’ (a ponytailed, nocturnal Goth-like creature, who shuns society by residing in the parent’s basement playing World of Warcraft).

So it’s not just education but our industry too. We are basically guilty of making computing uninspiring and a turn off.

And now I’m involved with a team of people that have decided to do something about it. I am working on a pilot project to create a digital skills academy in Helensburgh, Scotland, which was the birthplace of John Logie Baird, one of the world’s greatest technology pioneers.

Plans are underway to convert a three storey Victorian warehouse into the Heroes Centre, a multipurpose digital academy and entertainment facility.  The Heroes Centre will deliver over 4,600 hours of fun, vibrant, creative courses/workshops with titles like ‘ Innovate & Create’, ‘App Creation’, ‘Game On’, and ‘Camera/Action’, allowing people of all stages of life to increase their IT awareness and skills and provide them with real opportunities to engage in the digital economy.  It will allow young people to express themselves freely and creatively through programming, video skills and content creation. Importantly it will cross cut age barriers with younger people introducing and engaging with older generations around the topic of IT, leading to an atmosphere of inclusion, value and respect. And as importantly, the facility will operate at hours to suit everyone.

Novelist & App Designer Fergus McNeill, who left school at an early age to pursue an award-winning career in games design and creation, is one of our Heroes Centre champions. “For years, we’ve focused on teaching young people to be customers and consumers, rather than creators and innovators,” he explains. “Doing so anchors them at the wrong end of the IT food chain, and steadily pushes jobs and the industry overseas. It’s vital that we turn this around, encouraging young people to engage with IT, making them comfortable and confident enough to use technology in whatever career choices they make.”

Digital technology offers a social and cultural stimulus by providing more opportunities and greater flexibility in both work and leisure. Digital engagement provides access to markets, jobs and distant relatives, but I don’t believe that this can be delivered at a national level it must be nurtured and encouraged locally and we shouldn’t be reliant on the established Education to solve our issues for us. Of course, formal education has a major part to play but it is hindered by physical ‘opening hours’ and the assumption that once a pupil steps away from the premises, he or she has access to technology out of hours which is not always the case.

Increasingly, the concept of “social exclusion” needs to include “digital exclusion” since more and more opportunities and services depend upon technology. Ensuring access for communities must be an essential part of urban and social regeneration strategies the UK is to successfully compete on the global stage.

By providing access to industry professionals and technology during hours to suit, at a heavily subsidised cost (the model uses commercial revenues from other activities to cover the cost of learning provision) the Heroes Centre aims to fire a passion for technology within every one of us, regardless of preferred or chosen career path.

The Heroes Centre offers an ambitious but realistic model for any town in the UK but we need help and support to deliver it. We are currently in the midst of plans to raise a challenging £2M to get the Centre up and running. If you believe you can help please get in touch.

We are at the start of the second industrial revolution but it’s not on land – it’s in the cloud.  It is entirely fitting that the town that gave the world the Father of Television could spark a new digital transformation.

I only wish he could be here to witness it.

This opinion piece written by Phil Worms first appeared on the Drum Magazine’s web site on 14th February 2013

The cinema was the La Scala on James Street and the film was ‘Tank’ starring James Garner, Shirley Jones and C Thomas Howell.

What is probably even more unbelievable is that the La Scala was one of three cinemas that the Town boasted, the other two being the Plaza/Electric Picture House on John Street (opened March 1911) and the Tower Cinema (opened September 1927) on Colquhoun Square.

Of the three, the La Scala was the longest serving cinema, showing films for over 70 years, and at the time of opening it was considered to rival any picture house that London could offer.

“The La Scala Picture House makes a most attractive addition to the streetscape of Helensburgh. Its handsome front elevation is at once eye-arresting without being obtrusive or cheaply showy, and the whole building has been built on the most up to date lines.”

This description formed the opening paragraph in the Helensburgh & Gareloch Times’ report on the opening of the La Scala Cinema in December 1913. Designed by the renowned cinema architect Neil Campbell Duff (1861-1934), the cinema was described as one of the best of its type outside of London and any major UK city.

Designed to hold 600 patrons, and featuring the latest in auditorium comforts, the cinema provided much needed educational entertainment as a result of ‘the desires of the working class of this country for higher and better amusement.’

The original rectangular-plan Art Deco cinema was built with the entrance hall facing James Street. The hall was split into two main passages, patrons for the stalls entering on the left and those for the circles and boxes on the right. The manager’s room separated the passages and behind this room were the box office and the lighting control room. The front elevation featured a taller bay to the centre flanked by pilaster strips with raised moulded panels. A broad round-headed arch sprang from the cornice above and was set into a tall parapet. A modern door sat to the centre, surmounted by a canted oriel window. Oculi windows sat either side. 3 long margined bays sat on either side, displaying rectangular windows at ground floor level and small square windows below the cornice.

The interior of the building catered for over 600 patrons. The stalls and circle were fitted with luxurious tip up cushioned chairs – which were considered very state of the art. The circle and the balcony were reached via a stone staircase on the first floor, while a further staircase took you up to the private boxes. Once seated, patrons gazed at a draped stage containing a 20ft x 15ft screen.

Between 1913 and 1929, the cinema continued to show the latest movies and strove to bring other added attractions to Helensburgh such as performances by visiting opera singers.

In 1930 the cinema was converted to accept ‘pictures with sound’ – The Talkies. The first talkie shown was ‘The Broadway Melody” which opened on the 17th February to such demand that many people had to turned away. The picture starring Bessie Love, Anita Page and Charles King was to win the Best Film Academy Award – the first musical to do so.

The cinema continued to show movies until 1981, when a planning application was submitted to change the use of the building into a smaller cinema, snooker hall and leisure area. The construction work undertaken to effect this change created a single building split into three distinct areas.
In May 1984, the cinema admitted its final paying customer. La Scala traded for a few more years as a snooker and leisure club until early 1990 before finally closing.

Over a period of fourteen years several parties expressed an interest in utilising/redeveloping the building. Plans included a health club, a cultural centre and potentially a JD Wetherspoon’s public house, but ultimately none came to pass. Frustration about the continuing state of repair of the building even led to the formation of an action group by local traders who wanted the authorities to consider removing the buildings listed status so that it may be demolished and the land redeveloped.

In December 2002, the cinema owners, County Properties and Developments Ltd, asked Historic Scotland to de-list the property. The request was refused.

In May 2003, Historic Scotland added La Scala to the Buildings at Risk Register before it was finally announced in February 2004, that the building had been sold by County Properties to a London based developer, Kemble Estates Limited.

In February 2005, planning permission was granted to Kemble Estates for building change of use and for development as a restaurant/bar type facility. Work began on the conversion of the building in August 2006.

The Logie Baird pub was opened on Wednesday 11th April 2007 with the old building having been completely renovated by the new owners (Barracuda) at a cost of ₤800,000.

30 years is a fairly long time, but local people still hold fond memories of days and nights spent in the La Scala. Several gave their thoughts during our open day at George Street in 2011.

“ Sitting cross legged during Jaws to protect feet from shark attack, Bambi, crying my eyes out during ET and all the way home, queues outside. Faded splendour when I was very young, less character as it changed when I became older, but none the less welcome.”

“ When I was a small boy I would visit the cinema with my mother. I didn’t live in Helensburgh at the time so it was a great draw to be able to come to the town to visit the cinema.”

“Waiting forever to get in to see Grease. Managing to get in to see my first X rated film at 16. Thought it was great you could see a film in the stalls for 25p.”

“ In my youth I used to spend almost every Saturday in La Scala watching the films over and over again. It was fun sitting in the cheap front row but when you came out your head was still tilted back. In later years when you had a girlfriend it was popular to get a “box” but cannot remember actually watching the films.”

“ The entire cinema jumping at the scene in Jaws when Ben Gardner’s dead face pops out through the hole in the hull.”

The simple answer is Yes there could be, but it is a risk we are prepared to take.

We have thought long and hard about this matter over the months and have determined that we are going to stick to our original concept. The definition of a Hero means many things to many people, but we have used this term in the context of describing someone who has given us all a great example. An example from which we can learn and hopefully be inspired to emulate.

The dictionary defines a hero as a person distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, etc or a person who is idealised for possessing superior qualities in any field and it is these traits that we want to recognise and celebrate.

If you type the term Hero Quotations into any search engine, the net will bring back thousands of quotes from the great and the good. Examples such as:

“Without heroes, we are all plain people and don’t know how far we can go.”
Bernard Malamud

“Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.”
Benjamin Disraeli

“When we read stories of heroes, we identify with them. We take the journey with them. We see how the obstacles almost overcome them. We see how they grow as human beings or gain qualities or show great qualities of strength and courage and with them, we grow in some small way.”
Sam Raimi

But perhaps amongst all the search results that are returned the quote that we most align ourselves with is that of the ex Major League Baseball player turned philanthropist Dave Winfield who simply stated:”You know, heroes are ordinary people that have achieved extraordinary things in life.”

And that is what we want this Heroes Centre to be about.

Now sadly closed, Bookworms was nothing short of an Aladdin’s Cave to me. It was there that I first immersed myself in the heady aroma of paper and polish and discovered titles by Enid Blyton and J R R Tolkien.

When I look through the list of influential and groundbreaking people who have emerged from this unique estuary town I am wonderfully excited to be named as a Heroes Centre Ambassador.

Everything from the man who invented TV to the massively talented Hollywood actress who starred in The King and I, the output from this fairly small town seems almost excessive. There are also some great writers in the mix like W H Auden, a good friend of the fore mentioned Mr. Tolkien, and A J Cronin, the man who wrote ‘Doctor Findlay’s Casebook’.

The Heroes Centre is pulling an assortment of artefacts together linked to the hall of fame heroes: manuscripts, movie regalia, and much more which will hopefully inspire future generations to come.

With fond memories of Helensburgh’s La Scala Picture House, the fact that the new centre will also be a fully functioning cinema is extremely good news, not only for movie addicts like myself but for the local shops and businesses in the town.

With plans for a digital education centre looking at ‘new media skills’ and training areas, it seems to me that the Heroes Centre will multitask, ticking many boxes for Helensburgh, Scotland, the UK and, most probably, the world.

There is no doubt that our lives will become ever more entwined with this new digital world that’s already upon us, and that such a centre of excellence can only enhance, attract and inspire the people who will form our future.

Back in 2008 a group of like minded individuals came together to discuss some of the issues facing the Helensburgh community, issues that are probably common across many towns and villages throughout Scotland and beyond.

Admittedly it was hardly a meeting akin to the Fellowship but it did include a chap sporting a beard that Gandalf would have been proud of.

Questions that we raised at the time included: How can we provide new leisure and educational facilities given the economic conditions? How can we provide facilities that will encourage the areas younger members to feel included with the overall community? How can we provide facilities that will positively boost the local economy in a tangible and measurable way? How can we achieve this working as a voluntary team with work and family commitments? And last but certainly not least, how can we gain public recognition for the achievements of so many talented and inspirational men and women with associations to the area who have made a significant impact to society?

We came up with Helensburgh Heroes.

The whole concept behind Helensburgh Heroes is to provide a vehicle that can be run and managed by people with an interest in Scotland’s West Coast for the benefit of the wider community.

Helensburgh Heroes, is totally inclusive, is independent of the public sector and political parties, and has no self serving interests and aims to tackle economic, social and environmental issues, in an integrated and sustainable way. At the end of 2008, Helensburgh Heroes was granted charitable status.

After an immediate attempt to procure a former Victorian School from the local authority failed, the Heroes team settled back, biding its time and waiting for another opportunity to arise. Some two years later, at the end of 2010, the team were alerted to the possibility of a former Victorian Railway warehouse (the area is not short of former Victorian XXXs). It proved to be perfect.

Our Architect stated at the time: ˜As soon as the team went inside the building we knew that it could house both a range of first class entertainment and community facilities whilst also providing an inspirational space for the Heroes exhibition. Few people would imagine that there is a building with such a volume in Helensburgh.”

We invited the local community in to view the building, gauge the reaction and elicit their views and needs. Over 360 people attended and provided us with valuable feedback – the most common being “Don’t Give Up. Make it happen!!

Fast forward 6 months and the team applied for change of use planning permission to convert the building from warehouse into digital entertainment complex. With permission granted, the team set about developing a set of detailed plans for the facility.

Many miles were travelled, many meetings attended and many views gained, all of which has led us to the Heroes Centre and the vision we have laid out before you.

It’s an important and highly ambitious venture – not only for the local community but for Scotland plc.

We need a skilled digital work force, we need to be creative and innovative, we need role models, we need to inspire our next generation and we need to feel proud of both our identity and people.