Have you ever wondered what goes on in our Advanced Computer Scientists (ACS) classes? Every lesson is an exciting adventure with our passionate educators that will take our students to the next level of programming - all while having fun exploring - and experiencing a wide range of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related topics!

"My son comes home with a new skill everyday and tries it out on his favourite game. Fun way of learning!"

– Parent of Yuze, 11, Pei Chun Public School

What is the Advanced Computer Scientists programme about?

Our Advanced Computer Scientist tinkering and experimenting with his Micro:bit.

Coding Lab's ACS programme (for ages 10 to 12) offers 13 exciting research areas specially curated by our curriculum team.

Our students will cover a good mix of classes that we have categorised into 3 main groups: Hardware-Based Learning, Syntax-Based Learning and Complex App Development (Android and iOS). It doesn't matter whether your child is in the Infocomm club, they will get the full hands-on experience of exploring and honing the breadth of their coding abilities.

This exposes them to a diverse range of coding applications and possibilities of the trending technology topics of today. Best of all, our curriculum combines PSLE Mathematics - for maximum educational fun - as they watch the magic of Math and Coding come alive.

"The class was fun and enjoyable. I really loved learning in the class as the teachers were kind and helpful. They taught me many things I did not know and I am happy that I got my certificate.

I am grateful to my teachers for providing and guiding me through this fun and nourishing experience. Coding Lab is a fun place to go and I would recommend it to my friends. Thank you fellow friends and teachers for helping me through coding. 😁"

– Cheng Hao, 10

Our Tutor and Advanced Computer Scientists all geared up to take their coding to the next level in our latest Minecraft: Code Your World (P21S-MiCr) course.

Be it having advanced Micro:bit training in our Hardware-Based Learning classes, creating a quiz gameshow in our Syntax-Based Learning classes or perhaps developing an iOS mobile app in our Complex App Development classes, the endless fun will leave students smiling from ear to ear! 

Fun Fact! The latest research area added to our ACS programme is the Minecraft: Code Your World course, which made its debut in June 2022.

What do students learn in class?

Students dive deeper into advanced code as they advance in their knowledge, with hints and loving guidance from our educators. They will build on the knowledge learnt in their earlier P200 classes in drag-and-drop MIT App Inventor and text-based Python Junior - that's why these are prerequisites for our ACS programme.

In each lesson, our dedicated tutors begin by introducing the topic and giving the lesson's tasks to students. Students write down their thoughts in the colourful workbooks that accompany their learning, and get hands-on with coding. They will watch the codes come alive on their laptop or phone screens, and even tinker with robotics such as the Micro:bit. Our tutors are there at every step of the way to provide hints, answer questions and guide students to the solutions.

With the small class sizes and fun learning experiences, students are constantly stimulated and engaged. We've also aligned our curriculum closely to what students learn in MOE schools. For example, our Python Turtle course introduces shapes and concepts such as Pythogoras' Theorem.

Including concepts that are learnt in school is key in ensuring that our students get excited about learning. It also provides them with new perspectives about what they learn in school – some of them even get a headstart when they are first introduced to concepts in their coding classes!

We've got gorgeous and colourful book covers to complement our students' learning journey!

Did you know?

Research areas proceed based on a pre-selected schedule carefully curated by Coding Lab tutors, which exposes your child to all 3 main groups.

Gotta catch ’em all! Each research area has a corresponding badge that students can collect and advance their coding skills.

Read: Did you know? Fun Facts about our Advanced Computer Scientists

“ACS allows me to dive deeper into my interest in coding. They have a wide range of topics for me to explore. I learnt how to code on various types of programs like when we used Python Turtle for Game Development or when we created apps with Thunkable, where I learnt functions to command the program and do a list of commands.

My tutors let us explore and try to program it it on our own first. If I have difficulties, my tutors are always there to help me. They explain why the program functions as it should in detail and they go through the codes step-by-step in class. I enjoy the ACS lessons very much!”

– Jo Xi, 12, Northland Primary School

Here's the lowdown on our Advanced Computer Scientists programme:

An overview of our carefully curated Advanced Micro:bit Kit for the best hands-on learning experience.

• There are 3 main groups of classes: Hardware-Based Learning, Syntax-Based Learning and Complex App Development (Android and iOS) - you can find the full list of 13 research areas here.

• One ACS research area typically takes 10 hours to complete for 5 classes.

• In order to progress to the next level, students are required to complete all research areas.

As the name of our programme goes, we hope that our students become Advanced Computer Scientists as they embark on this journey and get broad-based exposure to the various STEM topics - and even if they decide to pursue something else other than computer science - we know that the ACS learning experience is one that they will remember for life!

See the real-world applicability of Python with this Health Game coded by our student!

Level up and code even more functions into your app!

Explore game development with Python and find out the endless possibilities of coding!

11-year-old Ankit shares his Take A Break app that he coded with Python, which utilises Math, loops and more that he learnt in ACS.

Keian, 11 years old, presents his ACS Python Turtle project about drawing fun shapes and patterns with various pen sizes and colours.

10-year-old Jacob shows his innovative use of Python to create a Periodic Table Explorer, which uses various Quiz elements taught in ACS.

Here's how you can become an Advanced Computer Scientist (ages 10 to 12)!

Read next: A Peek Into our Young Computer Scientists Course – Lifelong Learning and Applying It

(Written by Cheryl Tang and Zulaikha)