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youth k8

Coding for Kids

From Scratch to real code, by way of games the students design themselves.

Register for this course Back to the catalogue 12 weeks · 24 hours · free

For students who have outgrown the Junior Club and want to make bigger things.

We move from block-based coding to typed code, building games and small tools along the way. Students demo their work to each other at the end of each unit, which turns out to be the most motivating part of the whole course.

Jobs this leads towards

Real roles people do after this course and the ones that follow it.

  • Anything with a computer in it

    Learning to think in steps helps in every job later — this is where it starts.

  • Game developer

    Makes the games; today's block programs are how many of them began.

  • Software developer

    Writes the programs people use every day.

Is this for me?

Ninety seconds, no wrong answers, nothing recorded. It tells you how closely this course matches what you enjoy — and where to look if it does not.

What a week looks like

Day to day, so nobody is surprised.

  1. One afternoon a week after school, an hour and a half.
  2. Half an hour of computer club: typing, a game you build, a picture you make.
  3. Homework help with an adult sitting next to you.
  4. Snack. Always snack.

Three questions from week one

Get them wrong and you belong here. Get them right and you belong here too. Nothing is recorded.

Books worth having

None of these is required — the course lends what it needs. These are the ones worth owning.

  • Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding

    Linda Liukas

    A story that teaches thinking like a programmer, ages 5–10.

    Find it ↗

  • Scratch (free website)

    Where most of our juniors build their first game.

What to bring

Usually nothing. Where something small helps, it is here.

  • ▸Nothing to buy.
  • ▸A folder for the things you make.
  • ▸A library card — we will help you get one.

Do this at home

Between sessions. Ten to twenty minutes; the people who do this are the ones who finish.

  • Habit 1Fifteen minutes of reading aloud to somebody.
  • Habit 2Build something in Scratch and show it to a grown-up.
  • Habit 3Type your name and address without looking at the keys.

What you will be able to do

  • Move from block-based coding to written code
  • Use loops, conditions and variables to solve a problem
  • Design, build and finish a small game
  • Present their own project to a room

What you will use

  • Scratch
  • Python
  • micro:bit
  • Godot

What the course covers

The lesson plan for this course is being written. Register and we will tell you the moment it opens.

Register for this course Back to the catalogue