They are the children who have taken a break from playing computer games - to learn how to create them instead.
More than 80 youngsters took the first steps towards making the next Minecraft or Angry Birds as they attended a computer coding club in Manchester.
All tickets for the free event at the Sharp Project in Newton Heath were snapped up within two hours of their release with hundreds more kids put on a waiting list for the meeting.
The event is run by voluntary group CoderDojo, which operates in 41 countries worldwide with the aim of introducing children as young as five to learn computer code.
There are 350 clubs around the world but the Manchester club is now one of the largest both in terms of the number of participants and the size of venue.
Manchester CoderDojo, which started in December 2012 and moved to the Sharp Project in July 2013, held its 15th meeting on Sunday.
The event is organised with SharpFutures with apprentices volunteering to help run the code club.
Manchester CoderDojo founder Steven Flower said: “It’s incredible how quickly it has grown and how popular it has become.
“Tickets go within two hours of sending out the newsletter. We have a waiting list and could easily have 500 attendees at each session.”
Changes in the national curriculum mean that it will become compulsory for schools to teach computer coding from September but campaigners warn there is still a looming skills shortage threatening to hold back the UK’s digital industries.
Participants at the Manchester CoderDojo range in age from five to 17 years and the average age is 10.4 years. There is a 60:40 split between boys and girls.
As well as the monthly CoderDojo events, this summer will see the first summer ‘Tech camp’ set up in Manchester at the Museum of Science and Industry.
The ‘Fire Tech’ camps will cost parents £325 for a week-long course but there is a sponsored fund of £10,000 available for scholarships at courses around the country this year.
Tech camps have become hugely popular in the United States where it is estimated 50,000 kids attend every year. Since Fire Tech was launched last year in London, over 500 children have taken part.
Organiser Jill Hughes said: “Manchester has a thriving digital scene. It’s great for Fire Tech to become a part of that local culture and inspire young people to take advantage of it.”
More information at mcrcoderdojo.ork.uk or firetechcamp.com
