There was a variety of different prior coding experience in the room, from Scratch to C++, but the JavaScript language was something novel to all the boys. First of all, they learned that Java ≠ JavaScript, and that, while most often associated with the interactive features of modern websites, JavaScript finds its way into computer servers, the cloud, electric cars and more. They then began with a variation on the archetypal “Hello, World” first program, using console.log to output text to the right-hand side of their interactive editor.

They continued to learn about single line and multi-line code comments, remembering that communicating the intentions of our code to other human beings is as important as communicating them to the computer! Some of our seniors with prior experience went even further to discover about variables, the new “let” keyword in recent versions of the language, and did their own research into the built-in functions provided by the platform to solve some of the more advanced activities. I was delighted to hear more than one spontaneous comment along the lines of “this is fun!”, and I think it’s safe to say we are all looking forward to continuing our adventures next week.
Mr Upfold