Teaching children to code is to teach them to think logically and problem-solve. Computational thinking is a powerful skill for the 21st century; being able to understand code is something that will help the next generation thrive in the digital future.
It is little wonder that many parents want their children to pick up coding. However, there are several key things to look out for when choosing a coding school, and we may have found the best option for your child.
Coding Lab was founded in Singapore in 2015. Over the last few years, it has established itself as the leading coding school for those between the ages of 4 and 18. With its proven track record, Coding Lab has expanded from Singapore to other countries like Japan, Australia and Malaysia.
Here are five reasons why we think that Coding Lab is the choice for your child.
5 Reasons Why Coding Lab is THE Coding School for Your Child
1. Guided by A Big Vision
One of the distinguishing hallmarks of Coding Lab is its vision of what it aims to instil in each of its students – a deep-seated passion for coding. This vision stems from the experiences of Coding Lab’s founder, Yong Ning Foo, both in his personal life and at the workplace.
Since he was a young teen, he grew up tinkering and building websites and loved computers and programming so much that he pursued a Masters in Computational Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in USA. Since then, technology has changed by leaps and bounds and by today’s standards, 15 is a late age to start.
When Yong Ning started working, he saw first-hand the importance of applying computational thinking and how it was becoming integral to the workplace. Recognising that knowing how to code would be highly beneficial in the future and inspired to educate his own children, he founded Coding Lab with the mission of teaching the world to code.
Read our interview with Yong Ning, the Founder and Director of Coding Lab, here.
2. Robust Award-Winning Curriculum by A Global Team
The Coding Lab curriculum was designed by a global team of experts, has won numerous awards, and introduces programming to children through fun.
The progressive roadmap starts kids as young as 4 at programming concepts and extends all the way up to 18 years old, with an emphasis on Mathematics. Classes cover introductory programming languages for kids such as Scratch and Python, App Invention, Artificial Intelligence, and more. It also brings in challenges from fields like Banking and Medicine, so students see the real-world applications of programming.
The varied curriculum makes learning at Coding Lab an enjoyable experience. As one student, Jake Tan, puts it, “I like how my coding classes at Coding Lab are light-hearted and fun. The content is taught in a fun and engaging manner.”
Another student, Sarah Go, joined Coding Lab’s Python Meets Math course as a complete beginner in her teens, and after just six months she obtained an Honourable Mention at the prestigious National Olympiad in Informatics. She said, “ After you complete the course, you’ll have enough programming knowledge to read and understand code, pick up new techniques and explore things through coding.” Sarah is now on a four-year scholarship studying Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (ranked #18 globally for computer science).
3. Dynamic Team of Teachers
The right teacher can make all the difference to a child’s learning experience. That is why Coding Lab has gone to great pains to be selective in recruiting passionate teachers for their centres and put them through rigorous training.
Coding Lab’s tutors come from top universities like MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, Cornell, SUTD, NUS, NTU and SMU. As part of their training, they would even shadow or “understudy” more experienced teachers. This ensures that they are thoroughly immersed in the Coding Lab methodology.
The quality of Coding Lab’s teachers has not gone unnoticed by parents. One parent, whose child Mitsuki attended a Scratch 1 course, said, “My kid really enjoyed it more than we expected. At first we worried about her English skill, but thanks to the kind teachers’ help, she could catch up and complete the project … she (Mitsuki) said that the instruction of the teacher was very clear and helpful.”
4. Opportunities to Shine Beyond the Classroom
Beyond the classroom, Coding Lab also organises opportunities for their students to showcase their skills, and have won awards on the local and international stages.
Most notably, teams from Coding Lab have won awards at the Microsoft Minecraft Cup competition in Tokyo and the global MIT App Inventor Summit in USA. Coding Lab students have also won other accolades at the National Olympiad in Informatics, Young Technopreneurs For A Sustainable 2030 Challenge, Infocomm and Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) National Hackathon and more.
At Coding Lab, such experiences allow students to put their skills to the test as they pit themselves against others. This not only levels up their coding and programming skills but also gives them learning experiences and exposure to coders from different backgrounds, as they hone their presentation skills and gain greater self-confidence.
5. Links with Industry & Agencies
In the fast-changing world of programming and coding, Coding Lab has established itself as a school that is actively involved in initiatives and is in touch with the industry’s developments.
As a corporate partner of IMDA and its Smart Nation initiative, Coding Lab has participated in the agency’s SG:Digital Wonderland for multiple years, spreading the joy of coding and teaching young participants about programming.
Coding Lab was also invited to be the Official Training Partner for Shopee’s Code League for two years as the Data Science and Analytics experts. It has also worked with other industry partners such as OCBC Bank, NUS, CISCO and MOE.
These partnerships and linkages are a testament to the relationship that exist between the school and industry, as well as ensure that what is taught is relevant and up-to-date.
Learn from the Best at Coding Lab
Give your child the opportunity to learn computational thinking, creativity, resilience and communication skills and more through coding with the premier coding school in Singapore.
Coding Lab runs regular classes online and at campuses around Singapore. Its LIVE E-Learning classes harness the same video conferencing technologies that won the Singapore-Japan team the Microsoft Minecraft Cup.
These online coding classes make it easy for kids to experience Coding Lab’s award-winning curriculum from home. They will be able to interact with teachers over live video conferences and benefit from 24/7 access to video-on-demand lessons, forums and online practice questions to learn at their own pace and recap their knowledge.
Read a review of our online learning experience here.
Give your child a boost for the digital future by signing them up for coding classes from Coding Lab. They will not only learn practical programming but pick-up problem-solving, critical thinking and other 21st century skills too.
Find out more about Coding Lab’s classes and programmes here.
