# Ada Computer Science adds lessons for pupils aged 11 to 14

> The free computing site now covers the first years of secondary school. The government also opened its TechFirst programme to every UK secondary school and said Ada will replace an older platform after 2027.

The Yoink Report (CodeYoink) | UK | Schools | News of 21 October 2026 | Published 5 November 2026

The Raspberry Pi Foundation said on 21 October 2026 that its free Ada Computer Science platform now has material for pupils aged 11 to 14.

The foundation built Ada with the University of Cambridge for students aged 14 to 19. It said in [a blog post](https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/preparing-young-people-for-frontier-technologies-our-new-partnership-with-the-uk-government/) that the new lessons are the first of several releases paid for by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Later releases will cover topics such as AI and cybersecurity, plus self-paced projects and careers case studies. The foundation said everything stays free.

The work is part of TechFirst, a government tech skills programme. On the same day, the government said in [a press release](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/10000-young-people-to-get-foot-in-the-door-of-britains-tech-sector-as-work-placements-rolled-out-across-the-country) that every secondary school can now join it. The government aims to reach 1 million students by 2028, a year earlier than planned. Employers including Microsoft, IBM and Arm will offer 10,000 work experience places over three years.

Teachers and pupils in the UK can try the first new material on the Ada website now. A teacher who wants the wider programme signs the school up by emailing a regional delivery partner. The release lists an address for each English region and for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The foundation said these partners run practical technology activities in schools.

The release also said Ada will replace "the Issac platform currently funded by the DfE" from the end of the 2026 to 2027 school year. It did not say what happens to pupils' work stored there. Neither source said when the later Ada releases will arrive.

## Sources

- Raspberry Pi Foundation: [Preparing young people for frontier technologies: Our new partnership with the UK government](https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/preparing-young-people-for-frontier-technologies-our-new-partnership-with-the-uk-government/)
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (GOV.UK): [10,000 young people to get foot in the door of Britain's tech sector as work placements rolled out across the country](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/10000-young-people-to-get-foot-in-the-door-of-britains-tech-sector-as-work-placements-rolled-out-across-the-country)

Picture: User:Victuallers, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ict_room_woodlands.jpg

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