Speaking about the importance of coding he said: “It teaches computational and algorithmic thinking, logic, trial and error, collaboration. And it delivers a portfolio you can take to an employer and say: I did this.”
His approach has been criticised by Toby Young, whose free school - also in Hammersmith - is run along more traditional lines with compulsory Latin lessons.
Defending the games industry in The Guardian, Mr Livingstone said: “Lara Croft is strong, intelligent and independent, and she doesn’t need men.
"Games are now accepted as an art form. Bafta celebrates them in its awards ceremonies. They get the same tax breaks as films. They have music, art, narrative, graphics - an extraordinary combination of arts and science with an interactive element.”
Mr Livingstone advised the former education secretary Michael Gove to transform the national curriculum’s approach to computing by scrapping ICT and replacing it with Computer Science.
