Code Club expands its upper age limit to 13 years old

The UK’s network of Code Clubs has been a popular way for 9–11 year-olds to learn and practise programming skills: the organisation says that more than 85,000 children are currently part of a local club.

Now it’s expanding these clubs to more children. Older ones, to be specific: Code Club will now focus on young people aged 9–13, adding the first two years of secondary school in response to demand.

“At the end of last term, we invited UK Code Clubs to request packs for their students transitioning from primary to secondary education. These packs included a letter for their new secondary schools, explaining the benefits of Code Club and why the schools should consider starting one of their own,” explained Code Club in a blog post today.

“A fifth of all UK-maintained secondary schools are now registered with Code Club, and our excitement to see where the age range increase takes us is phenomenal; our staff of incredible regional coordinators, administrators, and social media wizards is eager to share in the fun, and to support volunteers throughout the period of change.”

As part of the expansion, Code Club is releasing five new projects for children using the Scratch programming tool, which will make use of their advanced skills.

If you have an 11–13 year-old whose secondary school isn’t yet on the Code Clubs roster, check out this page on the organisation’s website, which explains how you can set about starting one.