Python Programming
Beginner to job-ready Python for people with no coding background: syntax, data structures, files, APIs and a finished project you can show an employer.
Scheduled classes
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Ask a question- Format
- Scheduled classes
- Contact hours
- 45.5 hours
- Sessions
- 22 across 6 modules
- Certificate
- Yes, on completion
- Who it is for
- Youth, Professionals
About this course
This course assumes you have never written a line of code. It begins with installing Python on your own machine and ends with a working application in your own GitHub repository, and every session in between is spent writing code rather than watching someone else write it.
You build small, real things throughout: a transfer-charge calculator, a script that cleans a messy sales export, a programme that pulls live data from a public API, and a small API of your own. The final project is a stock-and-sales tool backed by a database, with tests, a README and a commit history you can talk through in an interview.
You leave able to read and write Python with confidence, model data with lists and dictionaries, handle files and failures, consume and build APIs, and use Git the way a team expects. That is the ground floor of backend development, automation, data analysis and everything built on top of them.
Taught in person in small groups with laptops open throughout. Expect three to five hours of exercises between sessions. We are direct about this from day one: the people who do the exercises finish job-ready, and the people who do not, do not.
What you will cover
6 modules, 22 sessions.
Module 1: Writing Python that runs
- Installing Python and VS Code, and running your first script1 hr 30 min
- Variables, numbers, text and the difference between them1 hr 30 min
- Input and output: a data-bundle cost calculator2 hr
- Reading an error message instead of fearing it1 hr 30 min
Module 2: Decisions, loops and functions
- if, elif and else: a bank transfer charge calculator2 hr
- for loops: working through a list of customers2 hr
- while loops, break, continue, and the loop that never ends1 hr 30 min
- Writing your own functions, and what return really does2 hr 30 min
Module 3: Data structures that hold real data
- Lists: building, slicing and sorting a price list2 hr
- Dictionaries: looking a customer up by phone number2 hr
- Nested lists and dictionaries: modelling an order with three items2 hr
- Tuples, sets, comprehensions and choosing the right structure2 hr
Module 4: Files, failures and tests
- Reading and writing text files1 hr 30 min
- CSV in, CSV out: cleaning a messy sales export2 hr 30 min
- try and except: surviving bad input and missing files2 hr 30 min
Module 5: Talking to the internet
- HTTP, JSON and what an API actually is1 hr 30 min
- Calling a public API with requests and reading what comes back2 hr 30 min
- API keys, .env files and never committing a secret2 hr 30 min
Module 6: The project, and how working developers work
- Classes and objects: modelling an invoice2 hr
- Virtual environments, pip, requirements.txt and your first tests2 hr
- Git and GitHub: commits, branches and a history you can explain2 hr
- Build and ship: a stock and sales tool backed by SQLite4 hr
Questions people ask
Do I need any coding experience?
None. We start with installing Python and explaining what a variable is. You do need to be comfortable using a computer and typing reasonably well; if you are not yet, take Digital Foundations first.
Do I need to be good at mathematics?
No. Secondary-school arithmetic is enough for everything in this course. Programming asks for careful, step-by-step reasoning far more often than it asks for algebra.
What laptop do I need?
Any laptop running Windows 10 or 11, macOS or Linux, ideally with 8GB of RAM. A 4GB machine works but will feel slow. Python, VS Code and Git are all free, so there is nothing further to buy.
Will this get me a job?
It will not, by itself, and anyone who promises otherwise is selling you something. What it gives you is real fundamentals, a project on GitHub you can defend in an interview, and the ability to keep learning without a tutor. Most people need to keep building for a few months after the course before they are hired.
Can I do this while working full time?
Many students do, but budget three to five hours a week for exercises on top of class. Ask admissions for the current timetable before you commit, since intakes differ.
What can I go on to after this?
Backend development with Django or FastAPI, data analysis with pandas, automation work, or machine learning. All of them assume exactly the Python this course covers, which is why we spend so long on data structures and error handling.