This year, Avondale School students Braydon Hall, Joshua Masangcay, Andrew Thompson and Filip Reierson found time on top of their HSC study demands to develop the apps for residents at Allity Aged Care’s Bayside facility, at Bonnells Bay.

“We had been using games available off iTunes, and the App Store, but they were games like Solitaire,” Allity Aged Care’s lifestyle coordinator Richard Jones said.

“What I wanted was an app that we could use with the residents that required the use of their fine and gross motor skills as well as their sensory and cognitive skills.”

When Avondale’s head of senior school Benton Craig relayed the challenge to year 11 students last year, the four enthusiastic volunteers received a detailed brief and promised to deliver.

“You couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces. The boys were so excited to get involved,” Mr Craig said.

What followed was months of meetings with Mr Jones, face-to-face sessions with residents, code-writing refinements, and testing.

The task spilled over into 2016 and the boys’ HSC year.

But student Andrew Thompson said the boys were never going to walk away from their commitment.

“I said at the start of the project that I would do it, so I knew I had to finish it,” he said.

And Mr Jones is glad that the boys saw it through.

“What we’ve got now in these two apps is exactly what we were looking for,” he said.

The apps, Match’Em and Fish Tapping, have been developed for use on iPads.

In Match’Em, the player is required to use their sense of touch to identify a common household item hidden in a sack, then match it with a picture of the item on the iPad.

In Fish Tapping, players tap on the animated fish as they leap out of the water, accumulating points with each tap.

Mr Jones said one of the most useful aspects of the Fish Tapping app was the ability to change the size of the fish, and their leaping speed, to match the skills of the user.

“The fact that these boys have worked in their own time to help me bring these apps to fruition is a real credit to them,” Mr Jones said.

There would be a growing need for games and apps designed specifically for the aged, he said.

“We’re in discussions now, and in the process of registering these apps with the App Store,” Mr Jones said.

The boys want the games to remain free, and are seeking no financial reward for their work, Mr Craig said.

That way, once the apps hit the App Store, they will be available for anyone to access – whether they be in an aged care facility, or at home.

The apps were proving popular with many residents at Bayside, and were particularly useful for patients with dementia in Bayside’s memory support unit, Mr Jones said.

Trials at Bayside have not only confirmed the popularity of the apps but also their effectiveness.

“Even from the point of view of the fun that they generate, they are working. And everything else the residents get from these apps is a bonus,” he said.

Residents with high anxiety levels were observed to relax while engaged with the apps.

Resident Barbara Croxon said the boys were onto a winner.

“From the moment you start to play these games you can feel an immediate change in your thinking,” Ms Croxon said.

“You can feel that you’re being mentally stimulated in every respect.

“I’ve never had anything to do with computers and apps, but I think what the boys have done is marvellous. They’ve done a wonderful job. The sky’s the limit for them.”

Bayside general manager Louise Foody agreed.

“I can see a massive potential in this program,” she said.

“It gives the students an insight into an aged care environment, and it taps their IT skills, and it challenges us to think about how we can develop and improve programs for our residents.

“It’s a really untapped area.”