Game masters

Annabel Williams • Last updated 20 Jun 2008 17:43 0 Comments

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YOUNGSTERS from a west Reading school got the chance to shape the future of the computer games industry at a software giant's British HQ.

Prospect School pupils Henrik Stepanyan and Jaspal Atwal, along with their ICT teacher Michael James Smith, were invited to Microsoft's offices in Thames Valley Business Park.

They took part in the first of a series of regional events called Talent Debates, managed by Business in the Community (BITC), an organisation which encourages more than 800 member companies across the country to develop their corporate responsibility.

The trio discussed their experiences of using the Microsoft XNA Game Studio software, which allows games to be developed for both home PCs and the Xbox 360 console, and then showcased some of their own work.

The conference brought together senior politicians, representatives from businesses in this region, key individuals from education including Prospect's headteacher, Deborah Ajose, and representatives from the local community and creative and science industries.

The guest speakers included Gordon Frazer, Microsoft UK's managing director, Ian Smith, Oracle UK's regional senior vice president, David Lammy MP, Parliamentary under secretary of state for skills, and Gordon Brown himself even sent a video message.

Mrs Ajose said: "We are extremely honoured to have been invited to take part in this debate and showcase, particularly as we are the only school taking part.

"Henrik and Jaspal are very gifted and enthusiastic game software developers and they have been encouraged and assisted by our ICT teacher, Michael Smith, as well as the staff at Microsoft UK."

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 19 Jun 08

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