Scratch Programming
Block coding for children aged 8 to 14: animations, games and the problem-solving habits that make real programming languages feel easy later.
About this course
Scratch is where most professional developers would start a child today. Instead of typing syntax, your child snaps coloured blocks together, but the ideas underneath are the genuine ones: sequence, loops, conditions, variables, events and debugging. This is not a toy version of programming; it is programming with the typing removed so the thinking can start.
Your child builds finished projects you can see and play: an animated character they drew themselves, a game with a score and lives, an animated story, and a final showcase project of their own choosing, published to their own Scratch profile.
The less obvious return is the thinking. Breaking a problem into steps, predicting what a change will do before making it, and staying calm when something does not work first time. Those habits show up in mathematics and in schoolwork long before they show up in another programming language.
Taught in person, one computer per child, in small groups so no child sits quietly at the back. Sessions are short and hands-on, and every one ends with something that runs. A child who finishes this course can move straight on to Python.
What you will cover
5 modules, 21 sessions.
Module 1: Meet Scratch and make something move
- The Scratch screen: stage, sprites and the block palette45 min
- Your first programme: make the cat walk, turn and talk1 hr
- Costumes and backdrops: drawing your own character1 hr
- Saving, naming and getting back to your work45 min
Module 2: Loops, events and staying in control
- Repeat and forever: a dance that never stops1 hr
- When the green flag is clicked: events that start things1 hr
- Keyboard and mouse control: steering a sprite around the stage1 hr
- Wait, glide and timing: making movement look smooth1 hr
Module 3: Decisions, variables and keeping score
- If then: what happens when a sprite touches the wall1 hr
- If then else, and comparing numbers1 hr
- Variables: keeping score and counting lives1 hr 15 min
- Operators: random numbers and maths that makes a game fair1 hr
Module 4: Build a real game
- Planning the game on paper before touching the computer45 min
- The player: movement that feels right1 hr
- Enemies, collisions and losing a life1 hr 30 min
- Score, levels and a proper game-over screen1 hr 30 min
- Sound, music and the finishing touches1 hr
Module 5: Stories, your own blocks and the showcase project
- Broadcast messages: two sprites having a proper conversation1 hr
- An animated story with scenes, dialogue and backdrop changes1 hr 30 min
- Making your own blocks, and finding bugs like a real programmer1 hr 30 min
- The showcase: building, presenting and publishing your own project2 hr 30 min
Questions people ask
What age is this course really for?
Roughly 8 to 14. The practical test is whether a child reads comfortably and can use a mouse or trackpad. Below that age they spend the session fighting the computer instead of thinking.
Does my child need a computer at home?
No. A computer is provided in class, one per child. Scratch is free and runs in a web browser, and projects saved to your child's account open on any machine, so practice at home helps but is not required.
Is my child just going to play games for an hour?
They build games rather than play them. The difference shows quickly at home: a child who has made a game starts asking how the games they play were built, which is the point.
Is it a waste if my child never becomes a programmer?
No. The durable part is the reasoning: breaking a problem into steps, predicting what a change will do, and debugging patiently instead of giving up. Those transfer to mathematics and schoolwork whatever your child does later.
Is the Scratch account safe?
An account needs only a username and an email address, and we use a parent or guardian's. We set the sharing and comment settings with you at the start, and we ask that the parent keeps the password.
What should my child do after this?
Python Programming is the natural next step, usually from about age 12 or once a child types comfortably. Children who finish Scratch arrive already understanding loops, conditions and variables, so the jump is mostly about typing and syntax.
Scheduled classes
Tell us you are interested and the admissions team will be in touch about dates and payment.
Ask a question- Format
- Scheduled classes
- Contact hours
- 24 hours
- Sessions
- 21 across 5 modules
- Certificate
- Yes, on completion
- Who it is for
- Kids, Youth