Build Your Future: Our Foundation Programmes
Ready to build the skills that matter? This programme is for kids and teens aged 10 and up. It’s where you’ll get to grips with the core tools and best practices that form the foundation of a brilliant tech career. It’s not about just learning; it’s about building your future.
The Bedrock of a Tech Career
This phase is the perfect place to begin your tech journey. We’ll give you a strong foundation by teaching you the core skills every tech professional needs. You’ll get hands-on with Python programming, understand team workflows with Agile, and learn how to manage your code using Git and GitHub. You’ll also get a first look at cloud computing. This program is designed for practical learning and building the best habits for a successful career.
FOUNDATION - LEVEL 1
FOUNDATION
LEVEL 1
Level 1: Core Python Programming - Building the Logic Backbone
This is where your coding journey begins. You’ll dive into the fundamentals of Python, a versatile and powerful programming language. We’ll cover everything from basic syntax and data types to control structures and functions. By the end of this level, you’ll have a solid grasp of computational logic and be able to write your own simple programs, building the essential ‘logic backbone’ for all your future projects.
DURATION 12 weeks COURSE FEE £360
LEVEL 1 - Course Content - Week 1 to 3
Level 1: Core Python Programming – Building the Logic Backbone
This level is the first compulsory step in the Foundation Phase. Designed for students aged 10+, it provides a solid and practical understanding of core Python programming, focusing on the logical skills and syntax required in any tech role.
Weeks 1-3: Python Fundamentals
- Week 1: Introduction to Python and Your First Programme – Understanding what Python is and setting up a coding environment. Writing your first commands to display text.
- Week 2: Variables and Data Types – Learning how to store and manage different types of data, including text (strings), numbers (integers and floats), and true/false values (booleans).
- Week 3: Basic Input and Output – Making programmes interactive by asking users for information and displaying clear, formatted results.
LEVEL 1 - Course Content - Week 4 to 9
Weeks 4-6: Control Flow and Logic
- Week 4: Operators – Mastering the use of arithmetic operators for calculations and comparison operators for evaluating conditions.
- Week 5: Conditional Statements – Learning how to write code that makes decisions using if, elif, and else statements.
- Week 6: Loops – Understanding how to automate repetitive tasks and iterate through data using for and while loops.
Weeks 7-9: Working with Data Structures
- Week 7: Lists – Learning to create, access, and modify sequences of data, which is fundamental to almost all programming projects.
- Week 8: Tuples and Sets – Discovering other useful data structures and understanding their unique properties.
- Week 9: Dictionaries – Mastering the use of key-value pairs for storing and retrieving information, a crucial skill for working with real-world data.
LEVEL 1 - Course Content - Week 10 to 15
Weeks 10-12: Organising and Reusing Code
- Week 10: Functions – Building reusable blocks of code to organise programmes and perform specific tasks efficiently.
- Week 11: Function Parameters and Return Values – Learning how to pass data into functions and get results back, creating modular and flexible code.
- Week 12: Modules and Libraries – Understanding how to use code written by others to add new functionality to your programmes without starting from scratch.
Weeks 13-15: Practical Projects
The final three weeks are dedicated to applying all the skills learned to build real, tangible projects. Students will choose one of the following projects to complete:
- Project 1: Simple Calculator: A programme that can perform basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) based on user input. This project reinforces variables, operators, and conditional logic.
- Project 2: Basic To-Do List Application: A command-line programme that allows users to add, view, and remove tasks from a list. This project solidifies the use of lists, loops, and user input.
- Project 3: Guess the Number Game: A classic game that uses conditional logic, loops, and the random module to create an engaging, interactive experience.
FOUNDATION - LEVEL 2
FOUNDATION
LEVEL 2
Level 2: Agile & Project Fundamentals - Working Smart, Delivering Value
Beyond just writing code, this level focuses on how tech professionals work together. You’ll be introduced to Agile methodologies, a modern approach to project management that prioritises flexibility, teamwork, and continuous improvement. You’ll learn how to break down complex tasks, plan your work, and collaborate effectively to ensure that you’re not just building something, but delivering real value efficiently.
DURATION 12 weeks COURSE FEE £360
LEVEL 2 - Course Content - Week 1 to 3
Level 2: Agile & Project Fundamentals – Working Smart, Delivering Value
This level is the second compulsory step in the Foundation Phase, designed for students aged 10+. It moves beyond individual coding to focus on the essential teamwork and project management skills needed to deliver real-world projects.
Weeks 1-3: Introduction to Project Management
- Week 1: What is a Project? – Understanding what a project is and the difference between projects and day-to-day work, using relatable examples.
- Week 2: The Project Lifecycle – Discovering the key stages of a project: from the initial idea to planning, execution, and completion.
- Week 3: Setting Goals and Scope – Learning how to define clear project goals and understand the “what” and “what not” of a project.
LEVEL 2 - Course Content - Week 4 to 9
Weeks 4-6: Agile Fundamentals
- Week 4: Introduction to Agile – Understanding the core principles of the Agile mindset: working in small steps, being flexible, and continuously improving.
- Week 5: Agile Roles and Ceremonies – Discovering the different roles within an Agile team and the purpose of key meetings like daily stand-ups and reviews.
- Week 6: User Stories – Learning to write simple user stories that describe a feature from the user’s perspective, a fundamental skill for collaborative teams.
Weeks 7-9: Tools for Teamwork
- Week 7: Task Management with Boards – Learning how to use visual boards (like a simple Trello-style board) to manage tasks, track progress, and collaborate effectively.
- Week 8: Sprints and Task Sizing – Understanding how to break a project into short work periods (sprints) and estimate the effort required for each task.
- Week 9: Feedback and Review – Learning the importance of team feedback and holding regular review meetings to showcase work and learn from the experience.
LEVEL 2 - Course Content - Week 10 to 15
Weeks 10-12: The Collaborative Project
- Week 10: Project Kick-off – Students form teams and apply their knowledge of Agile to a new project, using user stories and a task board to begin their work.
- Week 11: The Daily Stand-up – Practising a daily stand-up meeting to discuss progress, challenges, and plans for the day.
- Week 12: Sprint Development – The team works together to complete their first sprint, using all the tools and principles learned in the course.
Weeks 13-15: Final Projects
The final three weeks are dedicated to completing a team project that demonstrates their understanding of Agile and project management. Students will choose one of the following projects to complete:
- Project 1: Event Planner: A simple tool designed to help organise an event, with features managed as user stories on an Agile board.
- Project 2: Simple Game: The team builds a basic game in Python (using skills from Level 1) and uses Agile practices to plan and execute the development over several sprints.
- Project 3: Website for a Fictional Business: A team project to design and plan a simple website, with each team member responsible for different user stories and tasks managed on a project board.
SCHEDULE
To ensure students have the necessary skills to succeed, entry to this level is only for those who have completed Level 1. Students who finish Level 1 will be automatically enrolled in Level 2. A message will be sent to parents and guardians with all the details. If you’re only interested in taking this course ONLY, you can enrol directly through our Short Course programmes, without needing to complete previous levels.
FOUNDATION - LEVEL 3
FOUNDATION
LEVEL 3
Level 3: Version Control (Git & GitHub) - Collaborating with Confidence
Every developer needs to know how to manage their code, and that’s exactly what this level is about. You’ll master Git, the industry-standard tool for tracking changes and managing different versions of a project. We’ll then use GitHub, a platform for hosting and sharing code, to show you how to work on projects with others, solve conflicts, and contribute to the wider coding community with confidence.
DURATION 12 weeks COURSE FEE £360
LEVEL 3 - Course Content - Week 1 to 3
Level 3: Version Control (Git & GitHub) – Collaborating with Confidence
This level is the third compulsory step in the Foundation Phase, designed for students aged 10+. It teaches the essential industry skills of version control, allowing students to collaborate on projects, track changes, and manage their code effectively.
Weeks 1-3: The Foundations of Version Control
- Week 1: What is Git? – Understanding the concept of version control as a way to track and manage changes to a project’s files. We’ll use the analogy of a “digital time machine” for code.
- Week 2: Getting Started with Git – Learning the essential commands to begin tracking a project: git init, git add, and git commit.
- Week 3: Reviewing and Undoing Changes – Discovering how to view the project’s history using git log and how to go back to a previous version of the code.
LEVEL 3 - Course Content - Week 4 to 9
Weeks 4-6: Introduction to GitHub
- Week 4: What is GitHub? – Understanding the difference between a local Git repository and a remote one on a platform like GitHub.
- Week 5: Connecting to GitHub – Learning how to create a repository on GitHub and link it to our local project so it can be shared with others.
- Week 6: Pushing and Pulling – Mastering the core collaborative actions of pushing our changes to GitHub and pulling down updates from our teammates.
Weeks 7-9: Branching and Merging
- Week 7: What are Branches? – Understanding how to create a branch to work on a new feature without affecting the main project.
- Week 8: The Branching Workflow – Learning to create a new branch, make changes, and then merge it back into the main project.
- Week 9: Resolving Conflicts – A key skill for teamwork: learning what a merge conflict is and how to fix it when two people have changed the same line of code.
LEVEL 3 - Course Content - Week 10 to 15
Weeks 10-12: The Collaborative Workflow
- Week 10: Forking and Contributing – Discovering how to fork a project to work on your own copy and contribute your changes back to the original project.
- Week 11: Pull Requests – Learning how to create a pull request on GitHub to propose your changes and ask for a code review from your team.
- Week 12: Working as a Team – Students will work in teams on a small project, using everything they’ve learned about branches, pull requests, and collaboration.
Weeks 13-15: Final Projects
The final three weeks are dedicated to completing a team project that applies their knowledge of Git and GitHub in a collaborative context. Students will choose one of the following projects to complete:
- Project 1: Collaborative Website: Students work together to build a simple website, with each team member responsible for a different page. They will use Git branches and pull requests to integrate their work.
- Project 2: Python Code Repository: A repository where students contribute solutions to a series of Python challenges, with each student submitting a pull request for their solution.
- Project 3: Interactive Python Programme: A team-based project to build a more complex Python programme (e.g., a simple chatbot or quiz game), using a branch-and-pull-request workflow for different features.
SCHEDULE
To ensure students have the necessary skills to succeed, entry to this level is only for those who have completed Levels 1 and 2. Students who finish Level 2 will be automatically enrolled in Level 3. A message will be sent to parents and guardians with all the details. If you’re only interested in taking this course ONLY, you can enrol directly through our Short Course programmes, without needing to complete previous levels.
FOUNDATION - LEVEL 4
FOUNDATION
LEVEL 4
Level 4: Introduction to Cloud Computing - The Power of the Cloud
In today’s digital world, everything runs on the cloud. This final level provides a high-level introduction to the concepts and services of cloud computing. You’ll explore what the cloud is, why it’s so important, and how it’s used to store data, run applications, and power modern technology. This will give you a crucial understanding of the infrastructure that supports the tech world and prepare you for more advanced topics.
DURATION 12 weeks COURSE FEE £360
LEVEL 4 - Course Content - Week 1 to 3
Level 4: Introduction to Cloud Computing – The Power of the Cloud
This final compulsory level of the Foundation Phase, for students aged 10+, introduces the essential principles of cloud computing. Students will learn how to leverage the power of the cloud to build and manage digital resources, completing their foundational journey.
Weeks 1-3: The Power of the Cloud
- Week 1: What is Cloud Computing? – Understanding the concept of the cloud as a network of remote computers and why it’s a powerful tool for businesses today. We’ll use the analogy of a public utility.
- Week 2: The Benefits of the Cloud – Exploring the main advantages of using the cloud, such as cost savings, flexibility, and the ability to work from anywhere.
- Week 3: Cloud Service Models – Learning the three main ways to use the cloud: renting virtual computers (IaaS), using a platform to build on (PaaS), and using ready-made software (SaaS).
LEVEL 4 - Course Content - Week 4 to 9
Weeks 4-6: Core Cloud Services
- Week 4: Computing in the Cloud – Introduction to virtual machines and the idea of renting a computer in the cloud to run your programmes.
- Week 5: Storage in the Cloud – Discovering how to store files, websites, and backups safely and securely on the internet, using services like cloud storage buckets.
- Week 6: Cloud Networking – Understanding the basics of how to create a private and secure section within the cloud for your resources.
Weeks 7-9: Data and Security
- Week 7: Cloud Databases – Learning about what a database is and why storing data in the cloud is a secure and efficient solution.
- Week 8: Security in the Cloud – Understanding the shared responsibility for security, including the importance of setting user permissions and strong passwords.
- Week 9: The Cloud Console – A practical introduction to a cloud provider’s website, where students can explore and interact with different cloud services.
LEVEL 4 - Course Content - Week 10 to 15
Weeks 10-12: Practical Applications
- Week 10: Deploying a Website – Using their knowledge from previous levels, students will take a simple website and deploy it to a cloud storage service, making it live on the internet.
- Week 11: Backing Up Your Data – Learning how to automatically back up files and folders to the cloud, ensuring their work is safe and accessible.
- Week 12: Project Planning – Students will work in teams to plan their final project, defining the cloud services they will need to use to bring their idea to life.
Weeks 13-15: Final Projects
The final three weeks are dedicated to completing a team project that applies their knowledge of cloud computing. Students will choose one of the following projects to complete:
- Project 1: Static Website Hosting: A practical project where students host their own simple website on a cloud service, demonstrating their understanding of cloud storage and deployment.
- Project 2: Cloud-Powered To-Do List: Students will create a simple to-do list programme in Python that saves and retrieves data from a cloud database.
- Project 3: Cloud-Based Quiz Game: A team project to build an interactive quiz game that stores its questions, answers, and scores in a cloud database.
SCHEDULE
To ensure students have the necessary skills to succeed, entry to this level is only for those who have completed Levels 1, 2, and 3. Students who finish Level 3 will be automatically enrolled in Level 4. A message will be sent to parents and guardians with all the details. If you’re only interested in taking this course ONLY, you can enrol directly through our Short Course programmes, without needing to complete previous levels.
SCHEDULE - STANDARD PACE
Virtual – 1-hour session – Mon, Nov 03 2025 – 17:00 to 18:00 – £360 + VAT
Virtual – 1-hour session – Wed, Nov 05 2025 – 17:00 to 18:00 – £360 + VAT
SCHEDULE - FAST PACE
Virtual – 2-hour session – Tue, Nov 04 2025 – 17:00 to 19:00 – £360 + VAT
Virtual – 2-hour session – Thu, Nov 06 2025 – 17:00 to 19:00 – £360 + VAT
SCHEDULE: STANDARD, FAST PACE, & 1-TO-1
We offer a flexible schedule with multiple start times available every month, allowing you to choose the time that best suits you. While our standard pace is designed to accommodate everyone’s needs, we also provide a fast-pace option for students who are determined to complete the programme before they turn 18. This is particularly beneficial for students aged 14 and above who need to acquire the essential skills within a limited timeframe. Please note that seats for all classes are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
STANDARD SCHEDULE
FAST PACE SCHEDULE
Classes run for 6 weeks with 2-hour sessions per week. New sessions start every month, with multiple start times available to choose from. A £50 registration fee is required to secure your place. The maximum class size is 5 to 7, and the total fee is £360. Available dates and times are listed in the application form.
PRIVATE (ONE-TO-ONE)
The private one-to-one is available on demand. It costs £1200 and covers a total of 12 sessions with 1 hour per session. You can tailor the frequency and start times to your individual needs, allowing you to complete the sessions at a pace that suits you.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS
Answers to common questions about our Discovery Programmes.
What is the Foundation Programme designed for?
The Foundation Programme is the crucial first phase of our Career Launchpad programme. It is specifically designed for students aged 10 and above who are looking to build a strong, non-specialised set of skills that are essential for any successful career in technology. This phase is the perfect starting point for your tech journey, laying the groundwork for the more advanced, specialist phases that follow.
My child has previous coding experience. Can they skip the Foundation phase?
For students with previous experience, it may be possible to bypass the Foundation phase and enrol directly into the Mastery phase of our Career Launchpad programme. To do so, your child must demonstrate their competency. This can be done in one of two ways:
- Provide a Certificate: Present a valid certificate from a previous training programme that covers the foundational skills.
- Take a Competency Test: Successfully pass our internal assessment designed to test for the required foundational knowledge.
We may also consider an exemption from the Foundation Programme for older students, specifically those aged 14 and above. However, we strongly recommend that all students, regardless of previous experience, complete the Foundation levels. Our curriculum is tailored towards professionalism, preparing students for a structured career path, unlike many hobbyist programmes. The skills and methodologies taught in our Foundation phase are essential for success in the Mastery phase, ensuring students have a solid, professional grounding and don’t struggle with more advanced topics later on.
Do I need to have a computer or laptop for the course?
Yes, all students will need access to a computer or laptop with a reliable internet connection to participate in the programme, as all the coding and practical exercises will be completed on a personal device.
How will I be assessed during the programme?
Assessment is typically done through a combination of practical projects, coding exercises, and short quizzes. The focus is on demonstrating your understanding and application of the skills learned in each level, rather than on traditional examinations.
Is this programme suitable for a student who has no prior coding experience?
Absolutely. The Foundation Programme is specifically tailored for beginners. It starts with the very basics in Level 1 and builds up your knowledge systematically, so no prior experience is necessary.
What kind of support is available if I get stuck on a problem?
Support is available through our instructors and teaching assistants during scheduled class times. You can ask questions, get help with your code, and receive guidance on any challenges you encounter.
What career paths can this programme lead to?
While the Foundation Programme provides essential, non-specialised skills, it’s the perfect launchpad for a wide range of exciting tech careers. Think of it as the first step on your journey.
After completing the programme, students will be well-prepared to move on to more advanced, specialist training. The foundational skills you’ve built are the necessary prerequisite for our Career Launchpad programme, which is designed to take you into a specific field.
In the Career Launchpad programme, you will enter the Mastery phase, where you can choose a specialist path from a variety of in-demand fields. Your options will include Frontend and Backend Web Development, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, UI/UX Design, Networking, Ethical Hacking, Data Science, Business Analysis, Project Management, Machine Learning, etc. The skills you gain in the Foundation Programme are the essential building blocks for all of these specialist areas, giving you a significant head start on your chosen path.