Author: Zoe Davidson

Zoe Davidson

Why Bebras could belong in your Code Club

Some creators love a puzzle, so sometimes, a timed computational thinking challenge like Bebras can be just right for a Code Club.

One Code Club mentor from Cranmere Primary School, Surrey, UK wondered how the UK Bebras Challenge would fit into his fun and informal club. After giving it a try, the club discovered how much their creators loved tackling the puzzles — and how naturally Bebras fitted into the Code Club experience.

Richard shares why Bebras worked well in his club.

A cartoon beaver sitting at a desk with a laptop and a coffee mug, promoting the UK Bebras Challenge 2026 scheduled from November 9 to 20.

“They loved Bebras”

“My club is always quite chaotic. Although it takes place in a school, it doesn’t feel like a class or a formal lesson.

“That’s why I wasn’t sure if it would be a good place to run the Bebras Challenge, even though I’d tried some of the puzzles myself and really enjoyed them. It sounded a bit too formal for my Code Club.”

Richard decided to test the idea by launching a separate Bebras Puzzle Club with the school’s computing lead. Some Code Club regulars joined, alongside plenty of new faces.

During the first few sessions, the young people explored practice puzzles from previous challenges. They could try them freely or tackle them as timed activities.

“Timed test? That definitely sounds like school rather than a fun club, I thought. That’s not what the youngsters thought. They loved Bebras.”

“Many were going home and blasting through the other practice questions with such gusto that we worried we wouldn’t have enough left for them to do in the club. Even during the week of the Bebras challenge, their enthusiasm was undiminished, and there were groans of disappointment when we said that was the end of the club.”

Fortunately, the Raspberry Pi Foundation also offers a free follow-on Raspberry Pi Foundation Coding Challenge for groups who completed the UK Bebras Challenge, so Richard’s club members were not disappointed for long. 

“The biggest sign of the group’s enthusiasm came on the day of the Raspberry Pi Foundation Coding Challenge. The Year 6 participants had spent the day on a school trip to London. Their train home was delayed, and they then had to walk back to school through a hailstorm.

When they arrived, they were weary and bedraggled. I told them there wasn’t enough time to take the challenge, so they could quietly work with Scratch instead. They were crestfallen.

“With some quick help from the office, we arranged for them to stay later. They all happily sat down, logged on, and got stuck in.”

Richard found that Bebras introduced more young people to Code Club. When the spring term began, several members of the Puzzle Club signed up to continue exploring coding and technology at Code Club. 

Give Bebras a go in your Code Club

The free UK Bebras Challenge runs from 9–20 November and introduces young people aged 6–19 to computational thinking through fun, interactive puzzles. They don’t need any coding experience to take part, and the online tasks take just 45 minutes to complete. Every participant also receives a certificate.

Your Code Club can use the archive of previous challenges to try a few puzzles with your club first. They make brilliant warm-up activities and give creators a chance to practise problem-solving, logical thinking, and perseverance together.

A colorful map illustrating various locations connected by paths, with each location represented by iconic buildings or structures and star ratings indicating their popularity.

As Richard reflected: “I wasn’t sure Bebras would suit a group that wasn’t particularly studious or competitive, but I was surprised by how popular it was. I’m definitely going to take part in the 2026 challenge.”

Bebras takes place around the world. Find your local challenge and contact the organiser to see how your Code Club can take part.

The 2026 UK Bebras Challenge runs from 9–20 November. Register your Code Club for free and invite your creators to discover what they can achieve.

Translation supports Turkish creators to tell their own stories

Habitat Association, a global Code Club partner, is an organisation dedicated to empowering communities across Türkiye through digital literacy, coding, technology-driven innovation, and entrepreneurship. They believe everyone, especially youth and underserved groups, should have equal access to future-ready skills, technology, and economic opportunities.

Ruhee Shah, Global Partnerships Coordinator at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, spoke to Abide Tuncer, Code Club Coordinator at Habitat Association, about how translation is helping thousands of young Turkish coders build with confidence in their own language.

A conference setting with an audience attending a talk on volunteering, featuring a speaker at the front and a large screen displaying 'habitat' and 'Gönüllü Buluşması'.

Tell your story through code

Habitat Association currently runs 10 Code Clubs across 8 cities, alongside sessions held in public schools, regional STEM centres, and container classrooms in disaster-affected areas. Every session welcomes creators aged 7 to 14, working alongside volunteer mentors, local educators, and university students on coding challenges, game design, and digital literacy activities.

Rather than treating coding as a technical subject meant for a handful of people, Habitat Association’s mentors present it as a creative outlet — an activity that can be shaped around a learner’s own interests and questions. Mistakes are treated as part of the process, and young coders are encouraged to build their own projects rather than follow a fixed script. It’s an approach designed to help young people who might not see themselves as “coders” discover that they already are one.

‘’In our clubs, we don’t just explain how technology works; we give children a universal voice to tell their own stories, solve real problems, and shape the world they want to see.’’
Ezgi, Mentor

A classroom of children focused on computers displaying colorful underwater scenes with animated fish and coral.

The power of translation

Earlier this year, Habitat Association’s team started working with the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s translation network to translate Code Club projects into Turkish. Ten projects have been completed so far, with plans to add 5 to 10 more by the end of 2026, and a longer-term goal of translating around 20 projects a year, building what Habitat Association calls “a living library” that grows alongside the needs of Turkish-speaking children.

“Language is often the first barrier for young learners, and having materials in Turkish lets students focus on understanding coding logic. Instead of struggling with unfamiliar English instructions, children can now dive straight into problem-solving, game design, and digital storytelling with genuine confidence in their native tongue.”

– Abide Tuncer, Code Club Coordinator, Habitat Association

The project has gone beyond simply swapping out English words for Turkish ones. Habitat Association’s team has also adapted project narratives, character sprites, and everyday examples so that they reflect local culture, humour, and storytelling traditions that children across Türkiye grow up with. They’ve also helped us to align activities with Turkish school routines, national holidays, and community life. The result is that coding no longer feels unfamiliar, but something young learners can engage in easily.

The change is visible in the clubs themselves. Children who once needed extra help just to get started are now moving straight into building, and mentors are seeing greater enthusiasm and engagement across every session. Translated projects have also given Habitat Association’s volunteer mentors clearer, more practical teaching resources, helping them run sessions with more confidence and consistency — whether a club meets in a city centre, a rural youth hub, a container classroom, or the Mobile Training Vehicle.

“Seeing students light up as they discover new, fun ways to learn coding has been the most rewarding part of being on the translation team. What used to feel like a subject only for ‘techy’ kids now feels open to everyone, because they can finally focus on creating instead of translating. I’m so proud watching them go from hesitant beginners to confidently calling themselves coders.”

– Tuğba, Translator for the Code Club Projects

That confidence has already translated into real creations. Since the first localised projects launched, students have been building and sharing their own interactive games and animations entirely in Turkish, something that would not have been possible before.

A teacher demonstrating virtual reality equipment to students in a classroom with a banner that reads 'Yapay Zekâ Yıldızları'.

Looking ahead

For the rest of the year, Habitat Association plans to expand its library of translated projects, grow its volunteer network, and connect Code Club participants with wider opportunities to turn their ideas into real projects and competition entries. The goal is to move clubs beyond one-way learning spaces, into places where children experiment, build, and share with confidence.

“We want them to leave with the feeling that they are not simply coding for the future, they are coding the present… the choices, ideas and creations they make today can become part of the legacy they leave for tomorrow.”

– Abide Tuncer, Code Club Coordinator, Habitat Association

By meeting children in their own language and their own communities, Habitat Association is proving that removing a single barrier can open the door for thousands of creators.

Want to start creating? Explore our coding projects that are available over 25 languages.

A young boy in a gray hoodie leans forward, focused on his laptop, with digital icons representing technology, space, and the internet overlaid above him. Other students working on laptops are visible in the background.

Activities for every setting: Choosing and adapting projects for different club environments

Every Code Club is different, and the best activities are the ones that suit your young people, setting, and goals.

Code Club projects are designed to be flexible, whether you are running a club in a school, library, or other community space. In this blog post, we’re sharing practical ways to choose and adapt projects for your club, to help your creators get the most out of their sessions.

For more inspiration on adapting Code Club to different settings, read our blog post with insights from mentors Fiona and Bob, who run their clubs in a library and a school.

A group of people, including a child with red hair and glasses, are engaged in a coding or computer activity in a classroom setting. An adult is assisting the child on a laptop while another child observes.

Choosing projects for your setting

Some Code Clubs enjoy working on the same project together, to give young people the opportunity to collaborate, ask questions, and learn from each other. In other clubs, it may work better to encourage each creator to choose their own project based on their interests and experience.

Whichever approach you take, you can adapt most projects to suit your club and the young people attending. However, before you start to choose projects, it can be helpful to consider the following questions:

  • How often do you run sessions?
  • Does the same group of young people attend each session?
  • Are the young people a similar age, or do they have similar experience levels?

These questions can help you decide which approach is likely to work best for your club, and as a result, which projects may suit your creators best.

A smiling boy holds a sign that says 'We made this' in a classroom setting, with other students in the background.

Regular sessions

If you are working with groups of young people over a period of time, following a project path may be a good place to start. Project paths guide creators through a series of six projects that will help them build their coding and design skills, offering clubs a structure with clear progression, which they can bring into their sessions.

Examples include:

  • Introduction to Scratch: This path is ideal for less experienced creators. Young people build their skills in block-based coding through playful, story-led activities. 
  • Introduction to Python: This path is a good next step for creators who are ready to try text-based coding. Young people develop simple interactive programs and explore graphics, animation, and more.
  • Introduction to micro:bit: If your club has access to BBC micro:bits, this path is a great way to introduce physical computing. Young people create fun interactive programs using sensors, lights, and buttons.

Drop-in sessions

Libraries and community centres often welcome young people of a mix of ages and experience levels, and different creators may attend each session.

In these settings, it can be helpful to encourage each creator to choose a project based on their interests and coding experience. This helps them get engaged straight away, and makes it easy for participants to join in at any point, without needing to have completed previous projects, which supports a more flexible, drop-in style of learning.

With more than 200 projects to choose from, you can use the filters on the Code Club Projects website to find projects by theme (for example, art, sports, or health), difficulty level, and technology, to help every young person discover something that is right for them. 

“I really want the children to come here and be free — free to be themselves, free to be creative, without the restrictions of adults and their parents telling them or suggesting what their outcomes should be. Because once the children have been creative in their own space, they will continue to be creative in life. They will continue because they have the skills and confidence and the knowledge to know that they can create what they want to create without being directed or steered.” – Marie, Code Club mentor, Breadline London

Graphic showcasing coding projects for kids and teenagers with options in various topics including nature, games, music, art, sports, and science.

‘Bring your own device’

Your club may support young people bringing their own devices. This allows them to use types of software that they have installed, which may be different to the software available on devices that might be available at the venue, giving them more freedom to create with a wider range of programs.

Adapting projects to inspire every creator

The same project can feel completely different depending on how you use it. By connecting activities to your setting and the interests of the young people attending, you can make coding feel more meaningful, inspiring, and fun — while still helping learners develop the same core skills. Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Chatbot

This Scratch project can be educational, creative, personal, or community-focused, depending on the context.

In a school, creators could build a chatbot that quizzes their peers on a curriculum topic, to support their studies.

In a library, young people could create a project to recommend books or introduce library services, combining coding with storytelling and user-centred thinking.

In a community centre, creators could design a chatbot to welcome visitors or share information about local activities, using coding to support and connect with their community.

Cartoon robot face with yellow eyes, a smiling mouth, and an antenna on top, set against a green background.

2. About me

This project is a great way for young people to express themselves while taking their first steps with Python.

In a school, creators could write a program to introduce themselves, sharing their interests, favourite subjects, and hobbies.

In a library, coders could create a program inspired by their favourite books or characters.

In a community centre, creators could personalise their programs and share them with one another, encouraging creativity and helping everyone learn more about each other.

A simple, cartoonish robot character outlined in dotted lines, walking with one arm raised, against a yellow background.

Small changes, big impact

Each venue may be different, but the goal remains the same: helping young people build digital skills, confidence, and creativity. Small changes to the way you introduce or adapt a project can have a big impact, as this can help you make coding more relevant, engaging, and meaningful for the young people in your club.

“It makes me proud to know that I’ve made something, because I used to think, ‘I’m never going to be able to make that!’ Now, I’m a bit more confident.” – Alex, creator

Whether your Code Club meets in a classroom, a library, or another community venue, you can adapt our free projects and paths to suit your learners and your setting. Explore our projects to find inspiration for your next session.