Half Term Coding Activities!
Looking for activities for the upcoming half term break? Read on to find out about all the fun stuff we'll be getting up to at The Code Zone!
With the October Half Term rapidly approaching, you might be wondering: “Wait, it’s the middle of October already?” to which I say, yeah! I know! Crazy!
You might also be thinking “Darn, I wish I could do some coding activities over the week we’re not at school…” WELL dear reader do I have the thing for you!
Take part in a Game Jam!
First of all, starting October 20th, our brand new Game Jam starts! For those unaware, during half terms we like to give a theme to all our members and give them the next two weeks to make a game or animation to match it! Need some inspiration?
We have some carefully chosen base games to give you a starting point should you need it!
Check out our socials on October 20th where the theme for the upcoming Game Jam will be revealed!
Build a new game every day with Game Dev Holiday Camp!
You might also remember that back in the summer, we ran an online Summer Coding Camp. Well we are pleased to say it’s back for a brand new run! Game Dev Holiday Camp gives you a brand new game every day from the 27th to the 31st of October, all with mentor support just like our Game Dev Academy members get!
Click here to book your spot today!
Book a taster session in our online clubs!
And obviously, our regular clubs are running through the half term.
So if you aren’t already a member and want a taste of a session run live by a STEM certified mentor, get in touch and we can sign you up to a free taster session!
Happy coding!
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.
