Primary school pupils in Chessington celebrated this week the achievements of Ada Lovelace, the English mathematician who became known as the first computer programmer.

The event, held at Lovelace Primary School on Mansfield Road, marked International Ada Lovelace Day, which falls on October 9.

The school prepared a range of learning activities around the theme of careers in STEM and Ada Lovelace’s extraordinary contribution to computing.

Guest speakers included Dr Jennifer Cole and Laura Shipp from Royal Holloway University, Colin Philps of the British Interplanetary Society and Zoe Philpott from the interactive theatre performance Ada.Ada.Ada.

Lovelace Primary School said: “With a real life visit from Ada they learnt about her life and her extraordinary role in the history of computing.

“They also investigated how mobile phone technology has developed over time and compared it with the original equipment that was used in the past.

“Working with Colin Philps, children discovered how the solar system is configured, the comparative size of planets and the colour of space.”