// Compare
Coding club, tutor or live group tuition
Three ways to buy tech education for a 10 to 16 year old, compared on the things that decide whether it works: who teaches, what is taught, how many children are in the room, and what an hour costs.
Side by side
| Criterion | After-school club | One-to-one tutor | Builders Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who teaches | Usually a trained club leader or franchise tutor following the provider's lesson plans; some are teachers, some are students or hobbyists. | One person, chosen by you; qualifications vary from undergraduate to ex-teacher to working developer. | Two engineers who work at AWS, Ismail (applied AI and machine learning) and Sami (platform engineering). They wrote the curriculum and teach every session. |
| What is taught | Block-based coding and beginner Python or game-making, usually to a fixed syllabus per term. | Whatever you ask for, most often GCSE or A-level Computer Science or a language of your choice. | A website, a game, an app and their own AI chatbot at 10 to 12; Python, a Linux server we host and an AI assistant at 12 to 14; Amazon Web Services in a sandbox we pay for, team shipping habits and an AI product at 14 to 16. |
| Group size | Typically 8 to 20 children, sometimes more at school-based clubs. | One child. | 6 to 8 children, live, with the tutor watching every screen. |
| Cost per hour | About £14 to £30 an hour for live group sessions in the UK, from published price pages in 2026. | About £30 to £45 an hour for one-to-one GCSE-level tuition in the UK, from published tutoring-marketplace averages for 2024 to 2026; higher in London and for computer science. | £40, £45 or £55 a 90-minute session by level, which is about £27 to £37 an hour. Once or twice a week, billed monthly, cancel anytime, first session free. |
The figures for clubs and tutors are ranges from published price pages and UK tutoring surveys, listed under the table; they change, so check the current page before you rely on one. Our figures are the ones on our pricing page.
The honest summary: a club is the cheapest way to find out whether your child likes this. A one-to-one tutor is the fastest way to fix a specific problem, at the highest hourly cost. Live group tuition sits between the two on price, and ours is taught by the two people who wrote it and do the work for a living.
Live online sessions run by engineers who work at AWS. No accounts in your child's name under 13. Everything runs in the browser on platforms we manage.