Australia · Primary and high school · Checked at Girls' Programming Network

After a Girls' Programming Network workshop

A Girls' Programming Network workshop is a full day of building something real in code, alongside mentors and new friends, and many students leave wanting more. The gap between one workshop and the next is a whole school term, which is long enough for new skills to fade. This page explains what GPN runs and where, in the organisers' own words, points to the resources GPN itself recommends, and then sets out a simple way to keep coding between events, including one Python habit that makes every project easier to grow. We are independent of GPN and admire what it does.

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Checked at girlsprogramming.network on 7 October 2026 · Independent of GPN · Keep the coding going

In short

Girls' Programming Network runs free, full-day programming workshops each school term around Australia, which it describes as coding workshops for high school girls and gender minorities, hosted by volunteer technologists and teachers. It has nodes in Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne, Burnie, Adelaide and Brisbane, and GPN Junior for primary Years 3 to 6 in Sydney. Between workshops, regular practice keeps the skills growing.

Where to start

Three courses for keeping the coding going

Python is the natural next step for many GPN students, so these lead there.

Princess Coders course thumbnail

GPN / 01

Princess Coders

Our coding course designed for girls and women, from complete beginner upwards.

Open the syllabus →
Python for Teens course thumbnail

GPN / 02

Python for teens

A full path from first programs to structured projects for high school students.

Open the syllabus →
Python and AI for Kids course thumbnail

GPN / 03

Python and AI for kids

For primary students coming from GPN Junior who are ready for text code.

Open the syllabus →

About GPN

What Girls' Programming Network runs, and where

Everything below is taken from GPN's own site, read on 7 October 2026.

Girls' Programming Network at a glance, from the organisers
WhatDetails
WorkshopsFree, full-day programming workshops each school term, hosted by local technologists and teachers
Who they are forIn GPN's words, "Coding workshops for high school girls and gender minorities", for beginners and experienced coders alike
WhereNodes in Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne, Burnie, Adelaide and Brisbane
GPN JuniorA program for primary school students in Years 3 to 6, in Sydney
TutorsVolunteers: university students, IT professionals, teachers, parents and hobbyist coders
Tutoring pathHigh school students in Years 9 to 12 who have attended a main GPN event can be invited to tutor

GPN lists six values: fun, aspirational and relevant, challenging, diverse, social, and network. Its workshops mix learning with games, computing puzzles, mentors and new friends, and it says each student will be given an accessible challenge whether it is their first time coding or not.

GPN workshops are run by volunteer tutors, and students who keep coding can return as tutors from Year 9, which GPN presents as a way to build coding, public speaking and leadership skills.

GPN's own "more opportunities" page suggests installing the latest Python 3 at home, and lists places to keep learning, including Grok Learning from Year 4, Scratch from Year 3, MakeCode from Year 4 and Khan Academy from Year 6.

Workshop dates are announced by each node. GPN invites students to find their nearest node and join its mailing list to hear about the next event.

Sources: Girls' Programming Network; GPN Junior; More opportunities; GPN values. Read 7 October 2026. We are not part of GPN.

Between workshops

Turning one great day into a steady habit

A school term is roughly ten weeks. Without practice, much of a workshop's new learning fades long before the next one. Small, regular sessions keep it alive.

A simple between-workshops plan, about an hour a week
WeekDo thisWhy it helps
1Rebuild the workshop project from memory, without lookingShows exactly which parts were really understood
2 and 3Change it: add a feature, alter the rules, new textChanging code teaches more than copying it
4 and 5Start a small project of your own choosingOwnership keeps motivation high
6 and 7Tidy it up: names, functions, commentsMakes the code easy to grow (see the lesson below)
8 to 10Show it to someone and explain how it worksExplaining is the fastest way to find gaps

The plan works with any of the free tools GPN recommends. What matters is regularity: an hour every week does more than one long session before the next workshop.

A short coding journal helps too: one line per session saying what was built and what was confusing. By the next workshop, the confusing items make a ready list of questions for a tutor.

Some students want a teacher between workshops, especially once their own projects grow beyond what a single day covers. That is where weekly classes can sit alongside GPN rather than replace it.

Students in Year 9 and above can also aim to return as GPN tutors. Teaching a concept is a powerful way to master it.

Worked lesson

Don't repeat yourself: turning copied code into a function

Workshop projects grow fast, and fast-growing code is often copied and pasted. One idea keeps it manageable. The quiz program below is our own example.

The copied version

A Python quiz asks three questions. For each, it prints the question, reads an answer with input(), compares it with the right answer, and prints "Correct" or "Not quite". Each question takes five lines, copied three times.

The problem

A student notices that "Paris" is marked wrong when someone types "paris". The fix, comparing answers in lower case, has to be made in three places. Miss one and the bug survives.

The function version

The five lines become one function, ask(question, answer), with the question and answer as parameters. The questions go in a list, and a loop calls the function for each one.

Copied blocks compared with one function, as the quiz grows (counts for our example)
TaskCopied blocksOne function and a list
Lines of code for 3 questions1513
Lines added for a 4th question51
Lines of code for 10 questions5020
Places to edit to fix the capital-letter bug3 (or 10 with 10 questions)1
Places to edit to change the "Correct" message3 (or 10 with 10 questions)1

In the function version, the function itself is six lines, the list of questions takes one line per question plus an opening and a closing line, and the loop is two lines. At three questions the saving is small; at ten it is large, and the real benefit is that every improvement, such as ignoring capital letters or changing a message, happens once and applies everywhere. This is the principle programmers call "don't repeat yourself". A useful rule for students: if a block of code has been copied a second time, stop and ask whether it should become a function, and what should be its parameters.

Finding the parameters

Compare the copied blocks side by side and highlight what differs between them. Here, only the question text and the right answer change; everything else is identical. The parts that differ become the parameters, and the parts that stay the same become the function body.

That comparison is a skill worth practising on its own, with any project that has grown by copying.

Why it matters later

Every larger program, from a game to a website, is built from functions that are called many times with different inputs. Learning to spot repetition early makes the step to bigger projects much smoother.

It also makes code easier to share with a tutor or teammate, because a named function says what it does in a way five copied lines never can.

A pathway

How weekly classes can sit alongside GPN

GPN offers a free, social day of coding each term. Weekly classes can fill the weeks in between with steady progress.

Our classes pick up where a workshop leaves off: Python fundamentals, functions and data, then small projects the student designs. A student can bring a workshop project to class and grow it with a teacher.

Princess Coders, our course designed for girls and women, runs from complete beginner level, and our Python courses for kids and teens cover the same ground at each age.

We are not part of GPN and do not run its workshops or speak for it. Families should look to GPN directly for workshop dates and eligibility.

We do not promise particular outcomes. Our aim is steady skill and confidence, measured by what a student can build and explain.

A term of weekly classes alongside GPN workshops
WeeksFocusSign of progress
1 and 2Variables, input and decisionsWrites a short interactive program unaided
3 and 4Loops and listsRepeats work with a loop instead of copying
5 and 6Functions and parametersTurns a repeated block into a function
7 and 8A small project of her own designPlans and builds a working first version
9 and 10Improving and presentingExplains the project and one design choice

Growing as a programmer

Four rungs from first workshop to tutor

Every student moves at her own pace; these rungs describe the order.

From a first workshop to helping others learn
AroundRungThe sign it is secure
Years 3 to 61. Enjoys making thingsFinishes a small project in Scratch or blocks
Years 7 and 82. Writes PythonBuilds a short program with input, decisions and loops
Years 8 to 103. Structures codeUses functions and lists to keep projects tidy
Years 9 to 124. Teaches othersExplains concepts clearly enough to tutor a beginner

If motivation dips

Switch to a project that matters to her: a game, a quiz about a favourite topic, a tool for a hobby.

Code with a friend. GPN's emphasis on the social side of coding is worth copying at home.

Related reading

For moving from blocks to text, see after Scratch, the next step is Python.

Students who enjoy building might try Young ICT Explorers.

The catalogue

Nine courses for students who want more coding

Grouped by stage. Every card opens its full course outline.

I

Starting out

Primary and early secondary
II

Building in Python

High school
III

Making things

Web, games and apps

How lessons run

Weekly live classes between workshops

Our teachers are in India. Burnie and Hobart are four and a half hours ahead of India time in winter and five and a half in summer, and Perth two and a half hours ahead all year. An Australian after-school class lands in the Indian afternoon, so a regular weekly slot is easy to keep.

After school, midweek

Concepts practised on short exercises.

Weekend

Growing a project of her own design.

Before a workshop

A quick refresh so she arrives ready to go further.

Projects she chooses

Interest keeps students coding between events.

Understanding first

Every line explained, never just copied.

Friendly groups

Fifteen to twenty students at a similar level.

One-to-one option

For a student who wants a personal pace.

Alongside GPN

Classes complement workshops; they never replace them.

No outcome promised

We build skill and confidence, week by week.

Student work

Projects our students built themselves

Made because students wanted to. More in the student labs.

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Fees

Fees

Classes are charged monthly in US dollars, our international rate, with no joining fee and no lock-in. GPN workshops are free and run by GPN; they have nothing to do with our fees.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

  • A first class with a teacher, at no cost
  • Bring a workshop project to look at together
  • No card details
Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

  • Fifteen to twenty students at one level
  • The same teacher across the term
  • Projects shared and discussed
  • A certificate at the end
Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

  • A teacher for one student
  • Lessons built around her own projects
  • Weekly times chosen with you
Enquire

What families say

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Reviews from our Google listing, word for word.

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★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."

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"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."

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Student

★★★★★

"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."

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Parent of Dhairya

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."

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"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."

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Questions about GPN and next steps

What students and parents ask

What is the Girls' Programming Network?

A volunteer-run organisation that holds free, full-day programming workshops each school term around Australia, described on its site as coding workshops for high school girls and gender minorities.

Where does GPN run?

GPN lists nodes in Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne, Burnie, Adelaide and Brisbane. Each node announces its own workshop dates.

Is there anything for primary students?

Yes. GPN Junior is a program for primary school students in Years 3 to 6 in Sydney, according to GPN.

What does "don't repeat yourself" mean?

A programming principle: when the same code appears more than once, turn it into one function with parameters, so changes and fixes happen in one place.

What should my daughter do between workshops?

About an hour of coding a week: rebuild the workshop project, change it, then start a small project of her own. GPN also recommends installing Python 3 at home.

Can students become GPN tutors?

GPN invites high school students in Years 9 to 12 who have attended a main GPN event to volunteer as tutors.

Are your classes part of GPN?

No. We are independent of GPN. Our weekly classes can sit alongside its free workshops for students who want regular teaching in between.

Do you have a course just for girls?

Yes. Princess Coders is our coding course designed for girls and women, starting from complete beginner level.

What language should come after a workshop?

Python is a natural choice for many students; GPN's own resources page starts by recommending Python 3. Younger students may stay with Scratch a little longer.

What happens in the free class?

A teacher looks at what she has built, works through one new idea with her, and suggests a simple plan for the weeks ahead.

Related pages

More for Australian students

Coding pathways, projects and competitions.

After Scratch, Python

Making the jump to text code.

Young ICT Explorers

A national project competition.

Student hackathons

Team builds and who can enter.

Kids coding languages

Which language for which stage.

Coding classes in Australia

Every state and every age.

Competitions calendar

Contests through the year.

Start here

Book a free Python class

Tell us her year level and what she built at GPN or on her own. The free class grows one idea further and ends with a simple plan to keep coding.

Prefer to explore first? Course outlines are on the course atlas, and how we teach describes a lesson.

WhatsApp us · +91 91233 66161 · connect@modernagecoders.com

WhatsApp usually brings the quickest reply. Our number is Indian because the team is based in India; there is no Australian office.

No card needed and no obligation. We reply once to arrange it.

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