/ CODECLUB

Code Club 2026: Growing Coding Clubs Across South Africa

Code Club is a global network of free, volunteer-led coding clubs for young people aged 9–13.

Together with regional partners KCA Digital Democracy and Siyafunda CTC, we’ve helped grow a community of 1,000+ clubs across the country. In the Western Cape, we’ve handed over the Code Club network to the Cape Town Science Centre to continue growing and scaling in partnership with WCED - freeing CoderLevelUp to focus on new frontiers while the network is in great hands.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Assessment

In August 2025, the Raspberry Pi Foundation published an impact report specifically celebrating Code Club’s growth in South Africa - co-delivered by CoderLevelUp and Keep a Child Alive.

The numbers:

  • Over 42,000 young people reached through clubs
  • 1,498 mentors trained using a train-the-trainer model
  • 89% of surveyed mentors reported increased coding skills and technology confidence in their learners

“Changes your perception and thinking… it’s possible to do things… it becomes a reality because it’s not difficult.”

  • South African Code Club mentor

That’s external validation of something we’ve felt from the ground: Code Club works, and it’s growing.

What Happens at a Code Club

Code Clubs meet weekly, usually at a school, library, or community centre. Young people work through the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s project pathways - coding in Scratch, Python, HTML, and MicroPython. Volunteer facilitators guide the sessions, which are free to attend.

The projects are designed to be genuinely engaging - from building a quiz machine to making animations to writing simple games. The progression is carefully scaffolded so learners build confidence step by step.

“If they don’t know something, we can teach it to them.”

  • South African Code Club participant

Aligned to the DBE Curriculum

Code Club directly supports the Department of Basic Education’s Coding & Robotics curriculum, introduced from Grade R upwards. The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s project pathways cover the same concepts and skills, giving clubs a ready-made, high-quality curriculum that meets learners where they are.

Growth in 2023–2025

The last two years have seen strong growth:

  • Western Cape: continued growth with Anelisa Masebe coordinating clubs and teacher training
  • Eastern Cape: expansion in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE), including workshops at St John’s Umtata, Gqeberha and Matatiele
  • isiXhosa translation: the first two Raspberry Pi Foundation projects now available in isiXhosa
  • SACE Accreditation: registration completed for teacher CPD recognition through GetSACE
  • Micro:bit devices: approximately 900 Micro:bit devices donated by the Micro:bit Foundation incoming - enabling hands-on physical computing across clubs
  • Raspberry Pi devices: 100 RPi devices donated by Thinkst already in use

The Pico Pathway Kit

Alongside Code Club, CoderLevelUp has curated the Pico Pathway Kit - a hardware starter kit available from PiShop.co.za for R199.90. It’s the bridge from screen-based coding to physical computing, built around the official Raspberry Pi Foundation Pico pathway.

Coolest Projects

Many Code Club learners go on to showcase their work at Coolest Projects - the world’s leading technology fair for young people. The South African edition has run since 2020 and is now in its sixth year.

Get Involved

Code Club is supported in South Africa by CoderLevelUp in partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

campey

Campey

Lover of technology & humanity and getting them working together.

Read More