HackUK played a key role in supporting Campfire Birmingham, a 12-hour student-led game jam hosted at Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy as part of Hack Club’s global Campfire initiative.
The event was organised by Refract Foundation, with HackUK joining as co-hosts and mentors. Around 20 young people aged 13–18 from across the West Midlands attended, many of whom were experiencing coding and game development for the first time. Over the course of a single day, they collaborated in teams, experimented with new tools, and shipped playable games based on the theme “beneath the surface”.
Mentorship and hands-on support
HackUK provided hands-on support throughout the event, with founder Paramveer Singh attending as a co-host and mentor.
His contributions included:
- Helping students who were new to programming get started quickly
- Supporting teams with debugging and problem-solving during development
- Running informal explanations and guidance sessions where needed
- Helping participants move from initial ideas to working prototypes within a single day
This ensured that even complete beginners were able to successfully contribute to and complete projects.
Reflection from HackUK
During and after the event, Paramveer Singh reflected on the experience:
“I co-hosted and mentored at a hackathon last Saturday and left more inspired than the teenagers who attended.”
He also highlighted the scale and outcomes of the day:
“20 attendees. 6 games shipped. For many of them, their first ever lines of code.”
“Watching young people go from ‘I don’t know how to do this’ to demoing a fully working game in a single day is the kind of thing that reminds you why you got into tech in the first place.”
HackUK also summarised their role in supporting the event:
“We were mostly on hand to help out: running short workshops, sitting down with people who got stuck, and giving a bit of direction where it was needed. A fair few who’d never written a line of code before walked out with something that worked.”
Impact on participants
The combination of mentorship and co-hosting support contributed to a highly productive and supportive environment.
By the end of the day:
- 6 complete games were successfully shipped
- Many participants had written their first lines of code
- Teams demonstrated strong collaboration and rapid iteration
- Beginners gained confidence building real software under time constraints
For many attendees, this was their first experience of structured, real-world software development.
Reflection
HackUK’s involvement at Campfire Birmingham strengthened both the delivery and educational impact of the event.
Through direct mentorship and co-hosting support, the organisation helped create an environment where young people could learn quickly, collaborate effectively, and build confidence in their ability to create software.
The event demonstrated the value of combining structured learning environments with hands-on mentorship: students not only developed technical skills, but also gained confidence in their ability to execute ideas under pressure.
