Breaking Barriers at Heart of the Forest School: Empowering Young Minds with Code 🚁✨
We recently had the incredible privilege of delivering a Code-A-Drone workshop at Heart of the Forest School, a specialist school for students with learning disabilities—and the impact was nothing short of inspiring.
Led by our very own co-founder Bryanna Bone, who herself has learning disabilities, the workshop was a powerful example of representation in action. Bryanna’s personal story helped students see that their challenges do not define their future—and that the world of STEM is open to everyone.
We teamed up with DiversITy Talent to bring this workshop to life, aligning it with their mission of using technology to tackle environmental issues. Students were given a mission: code a drone to fly autonomously from Cannop Ponds to Mallard Pike, simulating a real-world tech solution to the Forest’s litter problem.
Governor Graham Stonadge, who is also a partner at DiversITy Talent, shared:
“It was amazing that they retained their focus and interest for so long and they got a tremendous benefit from getting ‘hands-on’ with the programming. It helped to spark their ideas further for their project and really motivated them – so all round tremendous job which is so much appreciated.”
💡 The Power of Belief: Small Shifts, Big Meaning
While some of our 7 students initially reported uncertainty about their abilities, our post-workshop surveys revealed real moments of transformation:
• Two Students, a male and female, didn’t believe they were clever enough to code—but afterwards, they said they were.
• One female student also couldn’t imagine being a software engineer—but left believing she could be.
• One male student shifted from “I don’t know” to “Yes” when asked if the world is getting better.
These might seem like small changes on paper, but to these students—and to us—they’re huge steps forward in building confidence, self-worth, and vision for the future.
🧠✨ At Drone City, we don’t just teach tech—we build belief. And thanks to partners like DiversITy Talent, we’ll keep making sure no learner is left behind.