These are the github pages of the Wokingham Library Code Club, located in Wokingham, UK and supported by Wokingham Borough Council.

The club is for children aged 9 to 12, and we run twice a month in Wokingham Library, on the first and fourth Saturday of each month, with a session for Scratch coding followed by a session for Python coding.

These pages contain information for students about forthcoming sessions, detailed information for lots of the projects we have developed in the past, as well as background information.

As is normal on github, the data on this site is divided into repositories and each repository (repo for short) contains all the information for a single coding project, or a group of projects. One repository, called OnlineCodeclub, contains a wide range of Scratch and Python projects, each of which is explained through a series of Youtube videos, and the links to all these videos can be found in the OnlineCodeClub repository. (These projects were created while the code club was operating online during the coronavirus restrictions.)

For a summary of the contents of all the repositories see here, or see the complete list of repositories.

Code Club has now finished for the summer to let our volunteers have a well-earned break. The next sessions will take place in September 2025. Keep watching this page for more information.

We will be back in September.

We made Scratch projects which used clones in some recent sessions of the summer term. If you want to catch up on these here are the links:

Fractal Tree

A fractal is a type of mathematical pattern which keeps repeating itself but at a smaller and smaller scale. The tree is a good example of a fractal which occurs in nature. There are instructions for this project in a powerpoint presentation and you can open it here.

Spiralizer

This project makes spectacular patterns with not much code. The instructions for the spiralizer are here.

You will need a Scratch account for the Code Club's Scratch sessions. If you don't have one already you can create one by going to Join Scratch. You will need a valid email address to sign up.

Please make sure you arrive for the sessions early enough that you have time to log in to your Scratch account and be ready to start coding at 10.30 am. PLEASE make sure you know your password (write it down if you need to) so that you are able to log in without a problem.

If you want to be able to share your Scratch projects with the club leaders and other coders your Scratch account needs to be confirmed. You can find the instructions for doing this at this weblink, under the heading How do I confirm my account?. It seems to be quite common that people can't find the first email sent by Scratch. In this case, follow the instructions to have Scratch resend the email.

Scratch has produced a page of information for parents. You can find it here.

The Code Club keeps a Scratch studio on the Scratch website, where our students can upload their projects for everyone else to see. Our studio for the past year's coding is called WLCC 2024-25 and in it you can find lots of our students' projects which they have shared with the club.

(Note: we only allow you to upload projects during our Scratch sessions at the library. At other times uploading is disabled.)

If you want to find our Scratch studio you can do a search on the Scratch website, or you can paste the link directly into your browser.

scratch.mit.edu/studios/35685710/

1. Open the Scratch home page scratch.mit.edu
2. In the Search box at the top type in WLCC 2024-25

3. When the search results appear it will probably say Nothing Found, so click on the heading Studios above the search results

4. You will now see the icon for the Code Club Studio. Click on this to open the studio.

As well as Scratch we do coding using a game called Rapid Router which is on the Code for Life website. This is an excellent way of practising the main coding blocks of repeating loops and if/else decision blocks. There are more than 100 levels, and they start at an easy level and quickly get more complicated. To try out the game go to Rapid Router game.

If you would like to save your progress and your code as you work through the levels, you should make yourself a Code for Life account by following the instructions below:

To make a Code for Life account you will need to use a parent's email address. Go to https://www.codeforlife.education/register_form: enter your date of birth in the Independent learner section then fill in the rest of the details, including your parent's email address. Once you have made an account you can login by going to codeforlife.education/play/ and clicking on the Log in button.

We will be back in September.

You will need a trinket account for the Code Club's Python sessions. If you don't have one already you can create one by going to trinket.io/signup. You will need a valid email address to create an account. You can find a guide for using a trinket account here.

For Python coders here are some suggestions of weblinks where you can find projects to try out over the summer:

These are projects described in YouTube videos where you can code along. We made these videos while the Code Club was operating online during the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Python Simulator This project uses Python turtles to make a simulator - but you'll have to try the project to find out what we are simulating.

2. Python Solar System Model We code up an animated diagram of the planets of the inner Solar System, and try to ensure that the planets are all the correct size relative to each other, and they go round the sun at the correct speed, relative to each other.

3. The Ancient Game of Nim for Python We use multiple turtles to represent matches in a very old game where two players take matches from a pile according to certain rules, and win by forcing the other player to take the last match.

4. Python Fractal Tree This project teaches a special type of function, called a recursive function, which allows us to draw really complex patterns using only a few lines of code.

These projects are part of a series of projects, and you can find the full list at OnlineCodeClub

We have devised a series of Python coding challenges to test your abilities. You can find the challenges at

  https://woklibcodeclub.github.io/site/coding_challenges/index.html

1. Rock, Paper Scissors with turtles. This is an animated version of Rock, Paper Scissors with You versus The Computer and uses turtle images to show the different hand shapes. The project uses a lot of Python lists, and some very clever logic for working out who has won.

2. Hangman This is a very old game which people used to play using paper and pencil. In the computer version you have to guess a mystery word by suggesting letters and finding out if they are in the word or not. If you don't get the word in six guesses you will be hanged!!! This project also shows how you can import data from a text file into a Python project. We have updated the instructions to show how to import your own word list into the game.

3. Python clock. We made this project when the classroom clock broke, and we needed to be able to tell the time to know when to go home. You will make a digital clock with Python first, then extend it to make a round clock with hands, using Python turtles.

4. Space Race. Move your rocket from the bottom to the top of the screen - but if you get hit by an asteroid on the way you will be instantly transported back to the start! This is a re-creation of an arcade game which was first invented in the 1970s. The instructions will show you how to build the game, but they don't give a complete explanation of how the code is actually working. You will have to look at your code as you write it and figure this out for yourself.

We suggest following our beginners Python course called Hello Python which you can find here.