How I run a dressCode club

Each year when the new pupils to Secondary school are settled our school runs a mini freshers fair. This is a great platform that brings together the new year group to the assembly hall in small groups across a couple of periods. They have the chance to hear all about the clubs that are on offer in the school and have a chance to sign up. So I setup a stand and talk to every girl I can and get inspirational senior girls who are keen to help out! Recruiting senior dressCode mentors have been one of the keys to the success of dressCode in my own context. Senior pupils who help run dressCode clubs can now achieve their Young STEM Leader award, more details here.

I also run a boys computing club and a mixed club, you can find out more about that in the FAQs page. I take the opportunity when teaching my new classes to promote the clubs on offer. If a girl is really enjoying something in class and doesn't come to dressCode, when we have to move on to the next topic, I always make a point and say you can continue that in dressCode and I can help you! I try to never miss an opportunity. I put a post on our school plasma screens to promote what day and when the club is and put posters all around the school where I know they'll be seen. You can find the posters here and the plasma screen promotion here.

I have a big table, have a popup dressCode banners, bring down my dressCode posters and make my stand look as exciting as possible, I usually try to bring a bright coloured table cloth to put over to make it stand out. I bring iPads with games, Scratch projects, websites and cyber treasure hunts that previous dressCoder’s have made. Bringing senior girls to help out is always good and we make it our mission to speak to every girl throughout the day so every new pupil knows about dressCode. I also really emphasis that if they can code they can change the world! I find out what their interests are and always work to relate to what they like to dressCode because you can make a website, game, cyber treasure hunt or Scratch project for anything they can imagine! We're really enthusiastic about the club and let them know it's the best one on offer ;)

I have this feeling every year! Usually, I'll have 3 or 4 girls to start with, then as the year goes on I have more and more! The first year I had 6 girls for the whole year and that started with 3 girls up to about Christmas but eventually went up. I figured 6 girls are better than none and I knew I was making a difference no matter how small! So don't give up, you are making a difference and the girls will come!

Now that I have been running dressCode for so long, it's embedded in the school and you'll hear the pupils who take around the new pupils say "Oh you have to join dressCode, it's the best club!" and with cousins and sisters etc. the world spreads! I also encourage girls to bring their friends as it can be quite daunting joining any club on your own, so I have found this helps.

I head into my room with my lunch, turn the radio up and wait for the girls to arrive. I always have seniors help me run the club. I have found that two or three is the perfect number but sometimes have had to get more if more dressCoders turn up. I encourage the girls to bring their lunch up and they'll all arrive with their lunch and we will always sit and have a chat about their day and what's going on. I have found it's really important to connect with the girls and take the time to get to know them. It creates a really nice relaxed environment within the club and getting to know their interests. It's so nice watching them grow over the years as well and I always encourage when girls who attended senior school to come back and help run and be role models for the younger ones. This role model cycle is so important and is now embedded in our schools and works really well.

Once the girls have had their lunch one by one they'll log on their computers and either start or continue their projects. My seniors pupils and I make the effort to go around and see how everyone is getting on, it's so exciting to see projects being completed and watching them progress over the months and how proud they feel when they have created something! I love it. What's nice as well is that it's a different environment from a classroom it's not just about going around and seeing if anyone needs help it's getting to know the girls as individuals as well. I really encourage girls to work together, having teams of girls creating a group project; one designing, one picking the colour schemes and fonts etc and one making things and taking turns. I always find this is a great way to encourage some girls who are unsure about coding.

We have lots of competitions throughout the year as well like dressCode's annual Halloween, Christmas, Cyber Advent and Summer of Code for example all with prizes up for grabs. I've found this really helps give a focus to the projects for pupils who are struggling for ideas and also a great chance for pupils to win a prize in a national competition.

I always make sure that in my dressCode leading up to Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays we have a mini dressCode party. If girls still want to continue working on what they're doing that's fine but we usually just enjoy each others company and have a lunchtime of fun. We'd play things like Pictionary, Hangman, Kahoot or that guess who game where you put post it's on your head. It's about creating a community and friendships amongst the girls and making a safe and happy environment that the girls want to come back to! Once they're no longer in the first two years of secondary school I always encourage the girls to come back and be the mentors and role models for the next new group of girls. Before you know it you'll have created a culture within the school where girls will be frequently attending and even coming up to your school asking about a dressCode club! Also keep an eye on the number of girls who pick Computing Science, I will not be surprised if you start to see that creeping up too! ;) this has been a big part of our success of how we encourage more girls into Computing Science at our school.

All due to your hard work, you will be helping to close the gender gap on a national level as well as your school!

We all know the gender gap is a global issue but I never make a big deal about this or ever really talk about it with the girls in dressCode unless it comes up. I want to empower girls and make them know they can do anything and Computing Science is the perfect subject that allows them to make a difference in every area that they're interested in.

I also do everything within my power never to miss a club! Although being a teacher sometimes that is not always possible due to external circumstances and other responsibilities, but I will always be sure to tell the girls the week beforehand so they know, but my seniors are able to keep things rolling. I also never cancel a club. I don't want girls to be unsure if dressCode is going to be on or not, it's always on!

My dressCode club aren't lessons, it's about girls exploring and creating so I avoid standing at the board and teaching like a lesson. I take the time to get to know them and help make their ideas come to life through code!

I let the girls explore their interests and what is important to them, this usually ends up with everyone making different things and some girls making a website and others making a game. I would get to know them and find out what they like, their interests. It could be their favourite movie is Captain America so I'd suggest we try make a game, project, website or cyber treasure hunt about that. I would also show the girls the gallery for inspiration or the challenge pages and see if they find something they'd like to make. I'd encourage girls to work in a team. Once could be the designer creating the characters or the buttons or the design of the Cyber Treasure Hunt while someone else do the coding or created the ciphers. If they want to work individual that is absolutely fine as well, I would encourage whatever they want and support them along the way.

The dressCode resources are not intended for pupils to copy exactly what I made. They're just a demonstration of the code that can be used to make certain things happen. These things are common in most websites or games. It's about encouraging girls and if they need their character to jump you can point them to that page to find out how.