Code Club Resources

Friendship, kindness, and code: Celebrate World Kindness Day at your Code Club

A friendly hello, making room for someone new, or taking time to help another creator work out why their sprite won’t move — small acts of kindness help make a Code Club a place where everyone feels welcome.

World Kindness Day on Friday 13 November is a chance to celebrate those moments, the friendships that grow around them, and the people who make your club special. It is also an opportunity to get creative, with projects that help young people connect and make something thoughtful for someone else.

Two children sitting at a table, each using a laptop. One girl is wearing headphones and giving a thumbs up, while the other is smiling and looking at her screen. The background features shelves with colorful items.

A place to make friends and be yourself

Friendships can start with a shared love of games, a fun animation, or a laugh when some code does something unexpected. At Code Club, creating alongside others gives young people opportunities to swap ideas, solve problems, and meet people who share their interests.

Every creator brings their own experiences, imagination, and way of learning. As mentors, you help make your club a safe, welcoming space where creators feel comfortable being themselves. Welcoming a new member, noticing someone’s effort, and showing that questions and mistakes are part of learning all help build that sense of belonging.

Invite your creators to help shape that environment. How could they welcome someone new, give encouraging feedback, or help a friend solve a problem with their code? These small acts of kindness can make a big difference to how everyone feels at your club.

Three children laughing together while collaborating on a computer in a classroom setting, with other students visible in the background.

Five projects to share a little kindness

From a friendly check-in to a digital gift, shine a light on kindness in your club with these creative projects. Try one in the week leading up to World Kindness Day, or keep celebrating kindness in the sessions that follow!

Start a conversation with ‘How are you?’

A simple question can open up a connection. In this Scratch project, creators can ask someone how they are in another language and translate their reply. You could invite your club to explore the languages spoken by their friends, families, and community.

‘Try How are you?’

Two cartoon characters engaging in conversation, with one character raising their hand and a speech bubble containing a question mark above them against a pastel background.

Make a thoughtful gift with ‘I made you a book’

In this Scratch project, creators use their skills to make a book with multiple pages, telling a story or sharing facts. Encourage them to design it with someone special in mind. Could they make up an adventure for a friend or fill the pages with a family member’s favourite things?

Try ‘I made you a book’

Check in with ‘How’s your day?’

In this project, creators use a BBC micro:bit to create a mood checker that responds to how someone’s day has been. Creators can choose messages, images, animations, or sounds for different responses. Invite them to think about what might feel encouraging or comforting to the person using their project.

Try ‘How’s your day?’

Three yellow smiley faces representing different emotions: excited with party items, calm with a flower, and sad with rain and clouds, against a purple background.

Send a smile with ‘From me to you’

In this Scratch project, creators make a digital card that they can share using a web address. You could suggest they make a thank-you card for someone who has helped them, a cheerful message for a friend, or a welcome card for a new club member. Encourage them to choose who to create their card for and to make the design their own.

Try ‘From me to you’

Stay connected with ‘Friend frame’

For experienced creators ready for a more advanced physical computing challenge, ‘Friend frame’ involves building a photo frame that shows a colour when a notification arrives from a friend. It is a creative starting point for thinking about how technology can help people feel connected.

Try ‘Friend frame’

Cartoonish illustration of a smiling child with curly hair pointing at a notification bell, surrounded by chat bubbles containing an envelope, smiling emojis, and a phone icon.

Make kindness part of every session

As well as making projects, there are lots of other ways for creators to make someone smile. Leave a little time at the end of your sessions for creators to thank someone, share something they admire about a project, or recognise a helpful moment.

A group of four schoolchildren gathered around a laptop, focused on the screen. They are wearing school uniforms, with some in green shirts and others in white. The classroom has a bright atmosphere with educational materials in the background.

Whether it’s a new friendship, a thoughtful creation, or the confidence to share an idea, there is plenty to celebrate at your Code Club

How does your club make everyone feel welcome? We would love to hear about the friendships and small acts of kindness that make your club sessions special. Tag us in your social posts this World Kindness Day!

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.

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.