Summer School of Programming
Frequently Asked Questions

This year (2024) we will be hosting two separate summer schools:

Junior Code Camp

The first camp  is hosted in the Computer Science building at Queens University, Belfast and will run from the 1st of July to the 5th July. This workshop is designed specifically for young people aged 7-11.

Senior Code Camp

The second camp  'school' is agaion hosted in the Computer Science building at Queen's University Belfast. and will run from Monday 29th of July until Friday 2nd August 2024. This series of workshops is designed specifically for young people aged 11-18.

At the beginning of each day we have a number of ice-breaker/fun activities to help everyone get to know one another. Some of these activities are physical and some cerebral but all are designed to be fun and encourage interaction. 

It's not wall-to-wall coding the entire week either, young people will get the chances to compete for various prizes through group-based activities.

Simple answer is NO! All our workshops assume young people have no prior knowledge of programming before they join us for the week. We teach everyone from first principles.

No. All we ask is that young people bring an eager attitude to learn new coding skills.

We take child protection very seriously at Code Clock and ensure that all our staff undertake the Enhanced Access (NI) check before they are allowed to be involved in any of our Code Clock workshops.

All medical conditions should be disclosed to us during the registration process. Any medical conditions which require medication should also be detailed in this disclosure. We'll make other parents and young people aware of any allergies.

Yes absolutely. There is discount available for groups of two or more enrolling on one of your 'School of Programming' workshops. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will send you a discount code.

We pride ourselves on welcoming young people of all abilities and levels of experience along to any of our workshops. During our 'School of Programming' registration process parents/guardians are asked to disclose any special needs, medical conditions or indeed any other relevant information which may be useful for our staff to know when dealing with your child during the workshop. This information is held in complete confidence and shared only with those instructors taking the workshop to ensure your child has the best possible experience. 

All young people will be asked to wear a name tag for the duration of the week which must be given out at the start of each day and collected at the end. Once your child enters the building they will be under the supervision of Code Clock staff.

No child is permitted to leave the building without written permission from a parent. If permission is given by the parent, children will leave the building at their own risk and will no longer be under supervision of Code Clock staff.

While we have never had any serious incidents in the past, all participants are reminded that they are responsible for the acceptable use of equipment over the course of the
week. Any young person found to be misusing ICT equipment during any of our workshops will, depending on the severity, be excluded from the workshop. Parents will be contacted immediately in the event of any such incident.

In the event of an emergency, we would encourage parents to ensure they can be contacted by mobile phone during our workshops. We will use the mobile number
provided during registration to make contact with you. If this has changed since registration, please let us know so we can update our records.

In accordance with QUB Fire Safety regulations, we will outline the fire safety evacuation procedures in the
unlikely event of a fire in the building.

We have a number of students attending this year’s summer school who have serious nut allergies. To ensure their safety and well-being, please ensure your child does not bring or purchase any food/snacks or drinks which may contain nuts.

The summer school is hosted in the Computer Science building at Queen’s University, Belfast found at 18 Malone Rd, Belfast, BT9 5AF.

Junior Code Camp - Monday 1st July - Friday 5th July

This runs daily from 9:30am until 3pm.

Senior Code Camp - Monday 29th July - Friday 2nd August

This runs daily from 9:30am until 3:30pm.

Please note we can only provide supervision for your child between these specified times and we would greatly appreciate it if you would drop-off/collect your child promptly. In the event that you are running late please phone/text Errol Martin (07720897450).

Morning registration will be located in the main lobby area on the ground floor of the building. Registration and collection will take place here each day. Children under the age of 16 must have written parental permission, a copy of which should be given to the instructors, to leave the building unaccompanied by an adult.

Parking directly outside the building is restricted and so we would advise parking either along Wellesley Avenue or Wellington park, both a short walk from the venue, and accompanying your child to or from the building.

While we will be providing some light refreshments i.e. crisps, fruit, water etc for young people, LUNCH and BREAK IS NOT PROVIDED and should be brought by the young person to the venue each day.

There is a shop on the same side of the road and a very short distance from the Computer Science building. This shop has both a hot food and ‘deli’ service and should cater for most dietary requirements. Please note that only those young people whose parents/guardians have given written permission for their child to exit the building during the specified workshop times will be allowed to leave the building to go to this shop.

Food and drink should only be consumed within designated areas and should not be consumed within the computer labs.

Please note we have a number of students attending our workshops with severe nut allergies so please ensure lunches and/or snacks do not contain any ingredient which might trigger an allergic reaction.

During initial registration, our welcome team will enroll your child in the work to which they were first registered. They will be able to tell you which workshop your child has
registered for. Additionally each young person will be given a colour-coded lanyard detailing their name, age and workshop.

All SENIOR workshops are hosted in the same lab and so movement between workshops is not a problem. However, we would encourage all young people to see their workshop through to the finish as the basic skills they’ll learn, regardless of the programming platform, are
the most important outcome.

Only those young people whose parents/guardians have notified Code Clock that they give permission for their child to leave the Computer Science building will be allowed to do so.

Please note that if permission is given by the parent for their child to leave the building during their workshop time, we cannot accept any responsibility for any incident which might occur while your child is outside of the building.

We will take some photographs over the course of the week for marketing and promotional purposes. We are already aware of those of you who have indicated you would prefer that your child is not included in any such photographs. If you have any objection to your child
being included in any such photographs, and not sure if you indicated this during your initial registration, please let us know asap.

Please note that we will never use Code Clock participant names in any of our promotional material. Code Clock participants are not permitted to take any photographs or record video kind during any of our Code Clock workshops irrespective of the reasons for the recording.

When you first registered your child for the workshop, we asked you to declare any medical conditions your son/daughter may suffer from. If you failed to declare any medical conditions which might require urgent attention or indeed treatment during any of our
workshops, we would ask parents to send us an email providing any relevant information.

Parents should also ensure their child has any medication they may require during the workshop times. Please note we are unable to help administer any medication to your child in the event of an emergency.

If any parents have any concerns about their son/daughter they would like to discuss prior to the workshop, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please note that while we do not expect anything to happen during any of our workshops, in the event of an emergency we will contact parents and/or emergency services depending on the severity of the incident. In the event that your child is unwell, we have a registered ‘first-aid’ person on-site who will assess and determine whether further care is required by a professional medical practitioner. We will of course notify parents in such circumstances and keep them notified. We would ask parents to remain contactable by mobile during our workshop times in case of emergency. We will use the emergency contact number provided
to us during registration to contact you.

Junior Code Camp [Monday 1st July - Friday 5th July]