Last week saw hard-working Redbridge volunteers honoured for their community work at the Mayor’s Community Awards. Robin Cottle caught up with winner Janushan Shanmugavadivel to find out more about his story.

Janushan Shanmugavadivel, 18, set up Kids Code, an after-school computer club designed to teach students, parents and even teachers how to do computer programming.

The teenager, a student at Ilford County High School, Fremantle Road, Barkingside, hopes the organisation continues its success story after he heads off to university this September.

Janushan won the Contribution in Support of Young People award. He said: “It’s pretty cool to win because it’s the first time I’ve won a trophy.

“We have the clubs in seven primary schools in Redbridge and I think we’re making a real difference.

“It’s a student-run student-led computer science which I think helps to break down barriers when it comes to teaching younger kids.

“Students being taught by students makes it easier for them to relate to the people teaching them.”

Janushan is heading off to university when he finishes his A-levels this summer.

He will continue to oversee the organisation while he is studying, but someone else will come in and run it on a day-to-day basis.

He said: “I hope Kids Code goes from strength to strength. I enjoy working with the children and I think that comes across.They want to be creative, they want to try new things and invent stuff and most of them take to it like a duck to water.

“I felt it was a missed opportunity that I wasn’t able to learn code earlier and I didn’t want other children to struggle when they started learning computing.”