Five months ago on the 16th of April we launched Code Club with a single tweet. We thought we’d start small and have about 20 schools by the end of the year but the response we had to that tweet has been amazing. We had so many schools signing up to take part in our pilot scheme that it was difficult to choose just 20 to participate. In the end we tested our projects with 22 schools and received weekly feedback from them on both the projects and the model itself.

We spent the school holidays designing the projects and producing a comprehensive support pack for our volunteers. We also launched a new website full of helpful content for people who are interested in starting a Code Cub at their school which you can check out here www.codeclub.org.uk

So we are delighted that at the beginning of this new school year over 200 volunteers started a Code Club at their local primary school. We know the average number of children at a Code Club is 15 which means approximately 3000 kids now belong to a Code Club and are learning to code. #AIRPUNCH

But don’t worry, we won’t stop now! The second term of projects is being written as I type and plans for the third term are underway too. We are hoping to grow the number of Code Clubs at a steady pace and continue to provide support for all our wonderful volunteers who so generously give up their time to teach the next generation how to code. *beams*

In September we took part in the Brighton Digital Festival at two different events. The first was Brighton Mini Maker Faire at the Brighton Dome. It was a fantastic event with loads of wicked robots and people having a go at making both digital and non-digital THINGS. We had a little stall and were swamped with people wanting to ask questions about Code Club. It’s great to meet so many enthusiastic people!

The following Tuesday one of our fantastic Brighton based volunteers organised a meet up people in Brighton who wanted to know more about Code Club, thanks to the wonders of the internet I was able to join them via Skype. The next day we ran a Scratch workshop for people planning to start a Code Club in Brighton this term. The purpose was to brush up on Scratch skills, swap tips and meet the other local volunteers. So we are in the process of planning a similar workshop in London which combines a Code Club Q&A with Scratch and will announce the date and venue as soon as we know them! Diaries at the ready!