Manreet, Pahulpreet, Tia, Alexis and Zarrah's Story

In 2024, Manreet, Pahulpreet, Tia, Zarrah, and Alexis from West Bromwich Collegiate Academy took part in our App for Social Action course when they were aged 12 and 13 years old. As Team ‘Family at Heart’, they developed an app designed to support families facing the cost of living crisis. Their idea earned them a place on the shortlist for the Future Founders category in our 2024 Showcase.

The app aimed to provide practical help through discounts, special offers, and budgeting tools, making everyday essentials more affordable. The students were inspired by the challenges faced within their own community and wanted to create a solution for those most affected by rising living costs.

The process of designing their app was described as “great fun”, giving them the opportunity to use their imaginations while strengthening their teamwork. They developed important skills such as communication, problem-solving, and collaboration, while also gaining a deeper understanding of computer science. Presenting their app to a panel of judges was one of their highlights of the experience.

They said, “If you have the option to take an Apps for Good course, you should take the chance. This is because you develop many skills on the way such as communication skills, teamwork skills and you even learn much more about computer science in general. No matter what the end outcome is, the journey of creating an app is great fun, you might even get the chance to showcase your work to judges like we get to."