guide · how_to_choose
How to choose a coding school
Six things that actually matter when you are deciding, each one measured against the 22 schools listed here, and the questions to ask before you enrol.
Match the programme to the child, not to the age on the brochure
8 of the 22 schools here state that they take children aged four or under, and a good centre will still tell you honestly when your child is not ready. A five year old does not need Python. Block-based coding and floor robots first, typed languages once reading and patience are there. A school that agrees your four year old should wait has just told you something useful about itself.
Get the full cost in writing before the trial, not after
Only 3 of the 22 schools listed here publish a fee on their own website. 19 do not, which means the number you are quoted is the only number you will get, so make it a complete one: fee per hour rather than per term, registration, materials or a device, whether it is a term commitment, and what happens to a missed lesson.
Take the trial, and watch one specific thing
Not whether your child enjoyed it. Whether they were ever stuck, and what happened next. A class where the teacher fixes the broken step for the child has quietly removed the only part that was teaching anything. Ask beforehand whether the trial fee is offset if you enrol.
Ask who teaches, and whether they stay
Small groups mean more attention, and continuity matters more than the syllabus. Ask how many children are in the class, whether the same teacher stays with the group all term, and what happens when that teacher leaves. Centres rarely volunteer the answer to the third one.
Weigh location harder than the website suggests
The 22 schools here run 59 locations between them, but they are not spread evenly. 18 cover the Central region, against 5 in the West and 4 in the North. If you are north of the island, location is the constraint that will decide whether your child is still going in month six, so it deserves more weight than the syllabus.
Ask what your child will have built by the end of term
A specific answer is a good sign: a game with two levels, a robot that follows a line, a working web page. A vague one usually means a syllabus that will be adapted on the day. 6 of the 22 schools also teach live online, which is worth asking about if the good fit is across the island, though it suits older children far better than young ones.
Two of those are worth reading further before a school visit. We checked every school's own website for a published price and wrote up what coding classes actually cost in Singapore, including why so few centres publish one. And if the child is younger than six, the preschool guide covers what is genuinely teachable at that age and what is being sold.
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Questions to ask on a school visit
- 01 What age and level is this class designed for, and would you tell me if my child were too young?
- 02 How many children are in a class, and who teaches it?
- 03 Does the same teacher stay with the group for the whole term?
- 04 Can we have a trial, and is the fee offset if we enrol?
- 05 What exactly will my child have built by the end of the term?
- 06 What is the full cost: fee, registration, materials, and any device?
- 07 What happens if we miss a lesson, and what is the refund policy?
- 08 Is the class in person or live online, and where is the nearest centre to us?
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