community

Coding, creativity, and community: Our 2025 Code Club stories

Every week, in classrooms, libraries, and community spaces around the world, young people gather to make, tinker, and imagine with code. Behind every project is a volunteer, a teacher, or a parent helping to spark curiosity and confidence.

At Code Club, it’s these moments of connection and creativity that remind us what community really means. As we look back on 2025, we’re celebrating you — the people who make it all possible.

A group of children and an adult stand in a classroom, smiling and holding colorful signs that say 'Join the club', 'We made this', 'code club', and 'Be cool'.

Community highlights

USA: Powered by sourdough — a big start for 8-bit Code Club in Minnesota

It’s been an exciting start for the 8-bit Code Club in Minnesota, USA, which launched this autumn in the local library and runs on Saturday afternoons. Parents say they’re grateful to Code Club and the library space, which provide their children with access to technology they may not have at home.

The club leader has also been creative in raising funds for equipment, selling sourdough bread at the local farmers’ market. Thanks to her efforts, the club has already purchased several Raspberry Pi computers and monitors, with micro:bits next on the wishlist.

A display case at a farmers' market featuring various types of artisanal bread, including plain, honey walnut, rye with caraway, olive herb, and pumpkin spice.

India: Coding for change — Gujarat’s girls break barriers

A visit to the Welspun Code Clubs in Gujarat, India highlighted a remarkable group of girls who have overcome significant barriers to education. Many had previously been unable to attend school, but with strong community support — including families agreeing to send girls once they were permitted to wear traditional attire instead of uniforms — they are now confidently creating Scratch projects and engaging with technology.

“Meeting these girls was truly inspiring. Watching them code with such pride, knowing the challenges they’ve overcome, reminded me how Code Club can shift perceptions and shape brighter futures.” – Suraj Jena, Programme Coordinator

A group of six young individuals, dressed in colorful traditional attire, smiles together in a community space, showcasing camaraderie and enthusiasm for technology and coding.

Kenya: From wildlife to heritage — Lamu’s coders shine

Code Club mentor, Mariam Abubakar from Mahmoud Bin Fadhil Boys School, Lamu, Kenya shares that her proudest moment this year was guiding her brilliant coders as they created and showcased four fantastic Scratch projects as part of Coolest Projects online showcase:

These projects blended coding with storytelling, environmental awareness, and national pride. Watching the students present with confidence and joy was a powerful reminder of how digital creativity can uplift young voices and celebrate heritage.

Remember, Coolest Projects 2026 opens on Wednesday 14 January. 

A group of young students collaborate around a table, engaged in coding activities on tablets in a classroom setting.

Ireland: Big discoveries in a small village — Kinnitty’s coders grow

For Kinnitty Code Club in rural Ireland choosing a single highlight was nearly impossible. But expanding their age range to 7+ was a standout moment.

“Witnessing the sheer shock and delight on these young creators’ faces when their first code runs is a feeling that never fades. That spark of discovery instantly reminds me why I have dedicated 13 years to running my club.” – Darren, Code Club mentor 

A group of young students in a classroom setting holds up devices while engaging with a computer screen that displays a coding project.

Australia: Young minds, big missions — Code Club Kawana steps up

Kaye shares how at Kawana Scouts, Code Club Kawana, Australia creators loved being testers for Moonhack projects earlier this year. It was their first time in the role, and they were thrilled to put their coding skills to the test — not just building from instructions, but thinking critically about how each project worked, how it could be improved, and whether it all made sense. Celebrate the success of this challenge and read the Moonhack insights blog. 

“They felt proud to contribute to a larger project, and even more excited to be on a ‘secret mission’ testing the projects before the competition began.” – Kaye North

Three children wearing green shirts, with headphones on, smiling and giving thumbs up while sitting at a table with laptops and stationery.

Celebrate together

Wherever you are in the world, we hope you feel proud of what you and your club have achieved this year. Together, you’ve helped make coding accessible to young people all over the world, and that’s something worth celebrating.

See you in 2026 and don’t forget to keep coding!

Mentor voices: Bootham School Code Club’s success story, with mentor Tom Lund

Ever wondered what makes a Code Club successful and inspiring? We spoke with Tom Lund, a mentor from Bootham School Code Club in York, to learn about their journey and what makes their club thrive.

A smiling mentor from Bootham School Code Club in York, wearing a Code Club t-shirt, is featured against a green background with the text 'Mentor voices'.

How did you get started with Code Club?

For two years, I’ve had the privilege of being a mentor and trustee at my local coding club. The atmosphere there is infectious; the passion the creators bring to each session is amazing. The leader encouraged me to set up a Code Club in the school where I teach, which I did! Since then, I’ve seen so many different creators learn by making, allowing them to celebrate their impressive achievements.

What does a typical Code Club session look like at Bootham School?

My Code Club runs weekly, every Monday and Friday during term time, and we tackle a variety of projects. As the mentor, I set a weekly theme, which could be something I’ve prepared or an idea suggested by the creators themselves.

A group of six children and a mentor posing together in front of a projector screen displaying 'Code Club @ Bootham Week 4' in a classroom setting.

Depending on the project ideas I develop, there might be templates, instructions, or starter code. Sometimes, my themes align perfectly with Code Club projects, and sometimes we will use other projects. I always make sure creators know that if they don’t want to participate in the week’s theme, they’re free to work on any project they choose, allowing their curiosity and creativity to flourish.

During each session, I provide guidance as needed but strongly encourage problem-solving by the creators themselves or their peers. I also fully embrace the motto: “If you make it, then you can play it.” 

In the last 10 minutes of each session — each one runs for an hour — we celebrate each other’s achievements, and creators can show off their projects if they wish. I also hand out certificates from the Code Club resources page, and we applaud our creators. Finally, I ask them if they have any particular themes they’d like to explore the following week.

Two young participants of Code Club at Bootham School, holding a micro:bit project and a completion certificate, with a presentation screen in the background displaying 'Code Club @ Bootham Week 4'.

What makes your club thrive?

Our Code Club fosters a very relaxed environment where creators can explore whatever they wish, however they wish. This could mean following a tutorial, a Code Club project path, or even starting from scratch with their ideas.

Sometimes, if I feel a certain programming language, like Scratch, is being overused, and creators need a nudge to try something new, I’ll suggest we take a break from it for a bit. This encourages them to discover new technologies they might love, removing any fear or anxiety around trying different tools and keeping them curious and invested.

A student working on a coding project at a computer, using a programming interface with colorful blocks on the screen.

Because my Code Club is within a school and operates as an extracurricular activity, it’s built into students’ timetables. They pick an activity each term and stick with it. This has helped maintain continuity in creator skills and has even fostered young mentors who guide new students transitioning into Code Club.

Describe your club in three words

This is a tough one, but my three words would be: creative, ambitious, encouraging.

What advice would you give to someone starting a Code Club?

My biggest piece of advice is to use the resources that are available. The Code Club website has so many helpful tips, documents, and project ideas to get you started. You can also look for other nearby clubs and see if you can speak to their leaders or champions for advice. It’s always best to try, because if you don’t, you’ll never know what could be!

If Tom has inspired you to set up a Code Club in your community, explore our ‘Run a club’ page to learn how to get started.

Mentor voices: Chris on empowering independent coders in Minnesota

We’re sharing insights from the incredible mentors who guide and inspire young coders. It’s their unique perspectives and the positive learning environments they foster that truly make these clubs thrive and help our global community grow.

Meet Chris, a passionate mentor involved with Normandale Hills Code Club in Bloomington, Minnesota, who’s building an environment where coders develop their problem-solving skills, normalise failure, and explore their creativity.

A smiling mentor named Chris from the Normandale Hills Code Club in Minnesota, promoting a positive learning environment for young coders.

Let’s kick things off by asking:

What inspired you to become a Code Club mentor?

Volunteering gave me a great excuse to lean into my computer engineering background and do something fun with my kids, who are fifth and third graders. It’s been a blast helping them and all the other kids learn more about computer science while bringing in some real-world perspectives and industry terms (like rubber duck debugging and pair programming).

What makes Code Club projects engaging for the young people in your club?

Our club did a number of simple projects to start using the micro:bits — things like creating a name badge, making pedometers, and playing the ‘Hot Potato’ game — but what really brought out the imagination and creativity of the kids was challenging them to design a game of their own.  

We brought in real-world concepts like project briefs to get them to think critically about what they wanted to build and how they wanted to approach it. Ideas ranged from simplified versions of FIFA and Madden to variations of existing party games.  

There were several moments where you could see it visibly click for one of the kids — when they realised they were not constrained by the step-by-step tutorial into building a specific thing, but had the freedom to create whatever they could dream up… which was quickly followed up by the slight fear in realising the challenge they were in for!

An illustration of a micro:bit surrounded by colorful graphics, including musical notes, party hats, and hearts against an orange background, symbolizing creativity in coding.
Engage young people in physical computing with Code Club projects that explore the BBC micro:bit

How are Code Club projects helping to ignite excitement, creativity, or lively discussion with creators?

It’s fun to see how all the different projects inspire certain kids — some have been more excited by the more visual projects, while others get joy from customising and making a project their own. 

When they were given their first option to build something of their own design, there were LOTS of questions. They ranged from trying to understand the guardrails to questioning how they were ever going to know how to code it.  

Our challenge to them was to just get started! We encouraged the kids to start writing code and test it when it was small, then write a little more and test it a little more. The emphasis was on letting the code come together iteratively, and tackling challenges as they came up instead of trying to anticipate all of them ahead of time.

What impact do you believe Code Club projects have on creators’ understanding of coding concepts?

One of the biggest benefits I see is normalising failure — even if following a tutorial, most kids make at least one mistake the first time doing a coding project. And that’s okay!  

Debugging code is a normal part of the development process, and that makes it safer for the creators to experiment, mess up, and learn along the way. My hope is that the willingness to try (and sometimes fail!) will extend into other parts of their lives and inspire them to take more risks than they may have otherwise.

How does your Code Club empower young coders to develop a sense of independence?

As the club has gone on, our young people have been given projects with less and less guidance, moving on from step-by-step tutorials to projects where they define their own problems. 

We frequently talk about the creative side of coding — how you, the coder, get to decide how to solve a problem. Your code may not look exactly like your neighbour’s. There is no one ‘right’ answer. Giving the kids the freedom to solve the problem in their own way builds a deeper sense of ownership of the solution than having everyone learning to do things exactly the same.  

We also give kids the opportunity to pair and partner with others, and put their collective brainpower to work on tackling a problem. This helps them learn alternative perspectives and broadens their understanding.

Has Chris’ story inspired you to make an impact? Join our community of passionate mentors! With active Code Clubs in over 100 countries, there’s a place for you. Ready to get started? Check out our Mentor at a Code Club page.