For this generation in the UK we were lucky in that the BBC Micro computers from the BBC Computer Literacy Project[1] were still physically in our primary schoo

For this generation in the UK we were lucky in that the BBC Micro computers from the BBC Computer Literacy Project[1] were still physically in our primary school classrooms (early 90s). I have a very memorable young memory of programming LOGO on a physical turtle to get it to navigate a maze in the school hall, and an even earlier memory (perhaps aged 5) of playing Granny's Garden[2]. There were also a lot of the 8-bit micros cheap 2nd hand in the 90s, all of which booted to a BASIC command prompt. For me, I was also very lucky and stumbled across a set of INPUT [3] magazines at a school Fete. At secondary school, we had PCs, whose programming languages were locked down to stop us playing games on them. I totally agree with your central point. These small interventions at a very early age through school initiated a curiosity, and totally changed internalisation of future concepts in Maths and Physics. The generation after me lost out, as the primary schools had got rid of the 'obsolete' BBC Micros, and programming lessons were replaced with 'workplace-orientated' IT tasks (spreadsheets, letter writing). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny%27s_Garden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny%27s_Garden [3] http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/magazines/input/input.htm http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/magazines/input/input.htm