Over the past 12 weeks, The Code Lab Schools Coding Programme has been running in the classroom for the enthusiastic and talented 4th class girls at Castletown Girls’ School, Dundalk.
What started as an introduction to coding turned into something far more powerful — a journey of confidence, creativity, and leadership.
The girls took to coding with incredible curiosity and commitment. From building interactive Scratch games to coding animations and solving challenges, they embraced every lesson with energy and imagination.
But what happened next was something truly special.
As the programme came to a close, the students decided they wanted to showcase their new skills to their families — and not just show off their projects, but actually teach their family members how to code. With a small bit of guidance from us and their teachers, they organised a Family Coding Event at the school.
On the day, the classroom buzzed with excitement. Laptops were open, Scratch projects were launched, and one by one, family members were welcomed by these proud girls, who guided them through the basics of coding. Watching the girls step into the role of teacher, explaining concepts, answering questions, and encouraging their family members, was nothing short of inspiring.
This event captured exactly what The Code Lab strives to do: empower young learners to not only use technology, but to understand it, share it, and feel ownership over it.
These girls had never coded before, and their teacher wasn’t familiar with how to teach coding in the classroom. But with our plug-and-play system, the class and the teacher were able to learn together. They started with simple, step-by-step lessons that introduced Scratch and guided them in creating their very first animations. From there, they progressed through our Animation Series and moved on to our beginner-friendly Game Series modules, gaining key coding and computer science skills at every stage.
Each lesson builds on the last, with clear explanations and incremental challenges designed to build confidence. A key part of our approach is always explaining the “why” — because we believe it’s vital for young learners to understand the reasons behind what they’re doing, not just how to do it.
To the 4th class girls of Castletown Girls’ School — we are incredibly proud of you. You’ve shown us what happens when children are given the tools and confidence to lead.
You can see the school write-up and photos on the school’s website:
https://www.castletowngns.ie/news/family-coding-event/
