First Coding

Learn the basics of using the Microbit, then build skills over the two weeks in September as we work towards creating a simple game that runs directly on the Microbit hardware. This workshop is perfect for beginners or those with a little coding experience who want to explore physical computing with a gaming theme, in a hands-on way.
Perfect for: Beginners / Intermediates.

Age range: 10-14*
Day: Saturday
Dates: 19th and 26th September 2026
Time: 10am – 11am
Venue: The Underground Studios, Harnham
Cost: £20 for 2 lessons.

*Age range guide only.

For more information and to book, click here: https://first-coding.pembee.app/activity/6a89b72db7aefc95430a3151

All Microbit boards needed for the sessions will be provided for use during the workshop. Please note that the boards cannot be taken home.

Huge congratulations to all my GCSE Computer Science students today! Everyone across my tutor groups achieved fantastic results, including a group of Year 10 students who sat their exams a year early and secured top grades.

Every student put in the dedicated effort, and seeing their hard work pay off is just the best reward ever and confirms to me, after a pretty difficult year dealing with scammers, the good work First Coding is doing.

My tuition groups basically come in a couple of flavours:
Targeted School Support: Dedicated tuition for students taking GCSE Computer Science at school who want to strengthen weaker topics and who need extra help with exam technique.

Independent Study: Comprehensive, structured classes for students taking the qualification independently outside of school.

If you know a student preparing for their Computer Science exams who could benefit from structured guidance, feel free to reach out. More details can be found here: https://www.firstcoding.co.uk/classes/

First Coding hasn't run summer workshops for a while because juggling other family’s schedules has been tricky in previous years as some could make one week but not others – that sort of thing. This year, however, I had a brilliant work experience student join me and so we put together a scheme of work, giving Ollie hands-on experience with everything from lesson planning and prep to actual delivery. Ollie was actually one of my GCSE Computer science students who took his exam in Year 10 and will pick up his result on Thursday. Good Luck to everyone collecting their results this week!

Thank you to Jez and Ollie from First Coding for hosting two coding events with us at the shop this week, and thank you to all those who came along to start creating your own games.

If you attended the event, you might like to have a copy of the worksheet Ollie has put together that goes through the steps of the game you made in the workshop. You can find that here -http://www.firstcoding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Collectables-Worksheet.pdf

Jez will be running his regular Saturday coding clubs again in Harnham once term starts. If you'd like more info on that you can sign up for his newsletter here - https://www.firstcoding.co.uk/newsletter/

Did you know we have a newsletter? If you're a parent, the newsletter is the best way to keep informed of all of First Coding's news including up and coming workshops. You can read the latest one here: https://mailchi.mp/d1d3a57d05ac/game-design-assembly-talks-for-schools-14194796

Follow the link to subscribe: https://www.firstcoding.co.uk/newsletter/

Hello! I hope the school holidays are going well for everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be running the Great South Run for charity in October. I didn't get a place in next year's London Marathon but I still have a place in my "warm up" run.

I'm running for CodeBar, a charity that facilitates the growth of a diverse tech community by running free regular programming workshops for underrepresented groups in tech. First Coding has previously helped coach some of their Southampton groups, so it's nice to be able to support the charity in other ways.

Any donations are so gratefully received: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/run-as-administrator

Thank you.

It's our final week this week, and so we've been allowing pupils to showcase their work. It's been great to see the progress everyone has made during this academic year.

This year has been really busy indeed, having had 302 individual pupils take part in our workshops, Alternative Provision and tutoring. A huge thank you to everyone for their support.

The electronics clubs that First Coding run in schools will be coming to an end next week. Once again, all the clubs have been learning how to program their own traffic lights and pedestrian crossing buttons and displays. Have you ever noticed that the crossings in Salisbury keep you waiting for ages and only let you cross when there's little or no traffic on the road? Those wanting a challenge also factored in traffic sensors to detect busier roads BUT they programmed their projects to give priority to pedestrians, not cars!

Over the past couple of months, First Coding has been getting a large amount of confusing emails and calls from people querying payments. This clearly hasn't got anything to do with First Coding. After a bit of investigation, it turns out the company they're trying to reach has recently popped up and it would appear that they have a very similar name to ours, so you can see where the confusion lies when people are searching for them online. This has caused quite a bit of stress and steps have been taken to help minimise the impact on First Coding and its ten years of operating.

How can you help?

If you’ve had a child or teen attend a workshop, we would really appreciate it if you could leave First Coding a review, as this will not only help us to reach new people but it will also make it crystal clear to anyone Googling us, what it is First Coding does. Here is the link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/NrMcyTKQQ9trAa5Q9

Thank you!

Looking for a fun, creative activity for the kids this summer holidays? First Coding is hosting two coding workshops in one of our favourite bookshops, The Rocketship Bookshop, on August 10th and 17th!

Instead of just playing games, children aged 8-11 will learn how to make one. We'll be coding a "Collect Them All" game using Scratch. Just follow the links for more details and to book.

We are looking forward to welcoming Jez from First Coding back to the shop for two summer coding workshops on 10th & 17th August. Aimed at children aged between 8 and 11, in this workshop children will learn how to build a “Collect Them All” game in Scratch. No prior experience is necessary.

Tickets are £5 and spaces are very limited, so booking is essential.

More info on the events and ticket link can be found here -

10th August - https://rocketshipbookshop.co.uk/event/childrens-summer-coding-workshop-with-first-coding-10th-august/

17th August - https://rocketshipbookshop.co.uk/event/childrens-summer-coding-workshop-with-first-coding-17th-august/