// CURRICULUM

What we actually teach.

Three tiers. Six modules each. Every one ends with something your child built and shipped.

// TIER 01

Foundations

Ages 10–12
By the end of the year, you'll have built a website, a game, an app, and your own AI character — all live on the real internet.

Your child spends a year building real things — a website, a game, an AI chatbot — using the same tools professional developers use, just with more guidance. By June, they'll have a portfolio of work they can show you.

Tools:ReplitCodeCombatVercel/Netlifydrag-and-drop where possible
01

Build your first website

What they build:

A personal portfolio site at theirname.buildersclub.org.uk

What they learn:

HTML, CSS, how the internet shows pages

02

Code through a game

What they build:

CodeCombat Python adventure + a custom text adventure game

What they learn:

Variables, loops, conditionals, functions in Python

03

Talk to the internet (APIs)

What they build:

An interactive app using a real public API, deployed publicly

What they learn:

What APIs are, JSON, making Python do real things on the internet

04

How the internet works

What they build:

An interactive visual explainer of how the internet works

What they learn:

DNS, IP addresses, how requests travel, why HTTPS exists

05

Meet AI — build your own chatbot

What they build:

A chatbot character with personality, deployed as a web app

What they learn:

What an LLM is, tokens, prompt engineering, calling AI APIs

06

Capstone

What they build:

A custom AI-powered website combining everything from modules 1–5

What they learn:

Scoping, designing, building, and demoing a full project

// TIER 02

Intermediate

Ages 12–14
No more training wheels. You write real Python, use a real code editor, and SSH into a real Linux server you control.

This is where your child stops using training wheels. Real Python, real Linux, real servers. They'll write code in the same editors used at AWS and deploy projects to actual cloud infrastructure.

Tools:GitHub Codespacesbrowser terminalPython with librariesGitHub
01

Real web development

What they build:

An interactive multi-page web app deployed from GitHub

What they learn:

Real frontend code, Git basics, JavaScript, responsive design

02

Python proper

What they build:

A Python project with libraries (Discord bot, data analysis, CLI game)

What they learn:

Functions, classes, libraries, pip, reading docs

03

Meet Linux

What they build:

A bash script that automates something useful on their Linux box

What they learn:

Terminal, filesystem, permissions, pipes, simple bash

04

Servers and the cloud

What they build:

A Python web app deployed to their own EC2 instance

What they learn:

What a server is, EC2, SSH, nginx basics, real deployment

05

AI APIs and chatbots

What they build:

A Python chatbot with memory and custom personality, with web UI

What they learn:

LLM APIs at depth, prompt engineering, conversation state, intro to RAG

06

Capstone

What they build:

A full-stack AI-powered web app with backend, database, and frontend

What they learn:

Full synthesis — the portfolio project that gets demo'd at showcase

// TIER 03

Advanced

Ages 14–16
This is the year you stop being a hobbyist. You learn the tools we actually use at AWS — and you ship production-grade work.

Your child learns AWS, Docker, and CI/CD — the same stack that runs Netflix and Airbnb. AWS, Docker, CI/CD, AI engineering. By the end, they'll have work that covers material most CS degrees don't touch until second year — cloud infrastructure, containers, and AI engineering.

Tools:Real LinuxAWS (LambdaDynamoDBS3IAMVPCCloudWatch)DockerGitHub ActionsTerraform (intro)Bedrock/Claude API
01

Networking & the internet, properly

What they build:

A multi-region website with custom domain, HTTPS, security headers. Networking challenges as a CTF

What they learn:

DNS at depth, TLS, HTTP/2, CDN basics, dig/traceroute/curl, security headers as a game

02

Linux & shell power-tools

What they build:

A multi-stage data pipeline in bash that processes real data on cron

What they learn:

Pipes, processes, package management, services, systemd, bash scripting

03

Serverless & cloud architecture

What they build:

A serverless app with Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB. Monitoring with CloudWatch

What they learn:

Serverless vs servers, event-driven architecture, AWS IAM, CI/CD with GitHub Actions

04

Containers & deployment

What they build:

Dockerised app with docker-compose (app + database + nginx). Intro to Terraform for provisioning

What they learn:

Dockerfiles, images vs containers, multi-container orchestration, IaC concepts. Kubernetes shown as 'what comes next'

05

AI engineering

What they build:

Multi-agent system with Bedrock/Claude, RAG pipeline with vector database, deployed as an API

What they learn:

Agent orchestration, embeddings, vector stores, retrieval patterns, evaluation, cost tradeoffs

06

Capstone

What they build:

A self-directed, production-grade project. Containerised, deployed, monitored. Defended in a 30-min technical demo

What they learn:

A project strong enough to put on a UCAS personal statement or show at an interview.

// THROUGHLINES

How concepts evolve across tiers.

Five core topics run through every tier — but what your child does with them gets more advanced each year.

ConceptFoundationsIntermediateAdvanced
How the internet worksVisual mental modeldig/curl hands-onDNS, TLS, HTTP/2, CDN, security headers
CodePython through CodeCombatReal Python, libraries, GitPython frameworks, architecture
Servers / LinuxConcept onlyFirst terminal, SSH, bashLinux at depth, DevOps
CloudVercel one-clickManaged EC2Real AWS, Serverless, IaC, CI/CD
AIChatbot via APIRAG-lite, memoryAgent orchestration, RAG, embeddings, deployment

// GET STARTED

Ready to start?

We'll place your child in the right tier based on their age and experience. First session free, no commitment.