Look back on 2024 for The Code Zone
It is coming to the end of 2024 and whilst the fire is still blazing and the Christmas tree lights are still twinkling, we want to take a moment to reflect on all the amazing things that happened at The Code Zone this year
It is coming to the end of 2024 and whilst the fire is still blazing and the Christmas tree lights are still twinkling, we want to take a moment to reflect on all the amazing things that happened at The Code Zone this year. Not only did we introduce 10 new stem-certified and DBS checked coding mentors to our team, but we also welcomed 4,247 coders to platform this year.
It has been amazing to meet every single one of you and we are so proud with how our previous members encouraged and supported the new members into our clubs.
In addition to new faces, we also began our journey of including new content into our clubs. To encourage critical thinking and problem solving, we introduced bugs into our weekly games for our more advanced coders.
These bugs were designed to exercise those fundamental coding skills by getting our members to fix small issues within their game - which were not only rewarding for our young coders, but also very useful for them to learn how to fix bugs in their own projects.
We also introduced 'Boosts' into our code cards as a way for children to challenge themselves by seeing their code presented in a higher level. By having a go at the boosts, it meant that members and mentors could gauge their skill level and understand the right moment to level up.
Both of these introductions have been a huge hit for all of coding club coders as they provide fun and engaging challenges, whilst also improving previously established skills.
Not to toot our own horns, but our content and mentoring methods haven't gone unnoticed by others either! This year, The Code Zone was announced at the Global Winners of the Xero's Beautiful Business Fund Award in the Upskilling For the Future Category. We were also accredited with a Stem Award meaning as of the beginning of 2024 all of our mentors are trained and Stem-Certified for our coding clubs.
We are so thrilled to have such a range of unique and talented mentors - they are the heart and soul of The Code Zone and the reason why all of our members love attending their weekly club sessions with us.
With all these amazing achievements, our mentors are taking a well deserved rest this Christmas. But in the meantime, do check out our latest Christmas World in our recently launched Minecraft Mod Worlds - which is available with every Code Zone subscription!
Our live clubs are back on Thursday 2nd of January, so if you are looking to start something new for 2025 get in touch to have an hour long FREE taster session with one of our Stem-Certified mentors. We look forward to seeing you all in 2025!
What a week in the clubs looks like
Posts like this one are what actually happens in a session, written by the mentors who ran it. A Game Dev Club session is one hour a week, in a group of no more than six, with the same mentor every week, online or at one of our in-person clubs.
That cap is deliberate: it is what makes it possible for a mentor to notice when a child has gone quiet, or has rebuilt the same game four weeks running because they are avoiding something harder.
Children build their own games rather than working through a set course. Levels move down as readily as up, so the work always fits, and staying where you are is a perfectly good outcome. Every mentor is DBS-checked and STEM-certified.
Most children start in Scratch or MakeCode and move to Python and TypeScript when they are ready. Mentors write a note on every child after every session, which is how we know when somebody is ready to move up, and it is why a child who has gone quiet for three weeks does not simply go unnoticed.
More than a third of our members are autistic or have ADHD, based on what parents tell us when they join. Children can keep the camera off, type instead of speaking, take a break without it disrupting anyone, and step away and come back.
In 2025 we received the Autism Inclusion Award from the National Autistic Society, and in 2026 we were ranked second in the UK in Club Hub UK’s Top 100 Children’s Activity Providers.
More like this
The blog is in two halves. Guides are the evergreen explainers written by the mentors who teach the clubs, covering the questions parents actually ask: what comes after Scratch, how to support a coding-mad child when you cannot code yourself, and what works for autistic and ADHD children.
Club news is the other half, and it is where posts like this one live: game jams, Minecraft builds and weekly roundups, written up by whoever ran the session. Neither is marketing. If you want to know what an hour actually looks like before you book anything, club news is the more honest read of the two.
The first session is a free taster and we do not ask for card details. Book a free taster session, see what it costs, or read about support for neurodivergent children.
