Youth Creative Coding & Game Development with Python

Building a real playable game — not copying a tutorial, building your own.

Booking now
Each session1 hr 30 min a session
How oftenTwice a week
Cohort8–10 per cohort
SeasonYear-round · a new cohort starts each month

What you leave with

Your own playable 2D arcade game, played and voted on by the cohort

Computational thinking, variables, loops, collision physics and object-oriented logic, learned by building a playable 2D arcade game from scratch.

The showcase at the end of each rotation is the point: everybody plays everybody else's game, and a ten-year-old who watched their friend play something they wrote will keep coding.

What makes this one worth it

  • Python Basics, The Canvas & First Sprite Movement
  • Conditionals, Boundaries & Collision Physics
  • Spawning Enemies, Game States & Animation Cycles
  • Custom Game Mechanics & The Arcade Showcase

What is included

  • All 8 sessions of the 4-week cohort — 12 hours of instruction
  • A place held for you for the whole run, in a cohort of 8–10
  • Every piece of equipment listed below, provided on the day
  • Your instructor, and their attention in a group this size

What to bring

  • Water, and something to eat if you want it
  • Nothing else — the kit is provided

How it runs

Twice a week · 1 hr 30 min a session

Frequency
2x / week — 90 minutes a session
Session length
1 hr 30 min
Each month
8 sessions, about 12 hours
Cohort size
8 – 10 participants
Where
Youth tech lab / collaborative coding room
Level
Beginner (ages 10–15)
Commitment
Monthly — stay as long as it is worth it

What you cover, in rotation

The group works through these in order and then begins again on fresh ground. Join at whatever stage it is on — nothing here assumes you were there for the last one, and nothing runs out — or drop in for a single session if that is all you can manage.

  1. Stage 1Python Basics, The Canvas & First Sprite Movement
    • Setting up the environment and understanding the 60 FPS game loop.
    • Screen coordinate maths and drawing basic shapes.
    • Capturing keyboard input to move a player sprite.
  2. Stage 2Conditionals, Boundaries & Collision Physics
    • If/else logic to keep sprites within the screen.
    • Bounding-box collision: collecting coins, avoiding obstacles, scoring.
    • Sound effect triggers on collision events.
  3. Stage 3Spawning Enemies, Game States & Animation Cycles
    • Multiple enemies using lists and random coordinate generators.
    • Game state machines: title, play, game over and win screens.
    • Frame-by-frame sprite animation for walking and jumping.
  4. Stage 4Custom Game Mechanics & The Arcade Showcase
    • Double jumps, power-up shields and timer countdowns.
    • Debugging errors and optimising performance.
    • An arcade showcase where the cohort playtests and votes.

4 sessions in the cycle, then it begins again on new ground.

Who leads it, and what is provided

Led by Professional software engineer / youth coding educator.

Live code walkthroughs, error debugging support, and encouraging creative game design.

On the table when you arrive

  • Raspberry Pi or laptop workstations
  • Game asset art packs
  • Python reference cards

Before you book

Know before you go

  • A drop-off class for ages 10–15
  • No prior programming experience is needed

Cancellations and refunds follow our cancellation policy, which is the same for every activity on this site.

When it runs

August 2026

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Runs Not running

Saturday 8 August

  • 10amup to 10 guests

Usually runs Thursday and Saturday.

This is the operator’s schedule, not live seat availability. We check the date with them and come back to you — nothing is booked or paid for here.

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