Kids coding franchise Code Ninjas has had a lot to celebrate over the course of the last four weeks. The brand, which launched in the US in 2016 and landed on UK shores just three years later, has welcomed its 400th franchisee into the international franchise network. Within just days of this exciting development, the first location to open in Scotland was announced as well. Justin Nihiser, CEO, has been spearheading the growth of the world’s largest and fastest-growing kids coding brand for almost a year, having taken over operations from co-founder, David Graham, in August 2020. Here, he celebrates the achievements of his network and their commitment to the cause of the brand.
It has been a few especially busy months at Code Ninjas. As well as celebrating our second anniversary here in the UK, we’ve just relocated our main headquarters, in the process of officially moving into much larger, state-of-the-art premises. It’s the home office our team truly deserves and somewhere we can all come together now that restrictions allow in person working again. To see the custom-designed space come to life has been a sight to behold and something I’m very proud to celebrate with my global team.
Adding to the excitement is interest in our specialist coding camps – running through the summer school holiday here in the UK – is so high that many British franchisees have brought their launches forward, to accommodate the growing demand. With the six-week summer holiday fast approaching, parents are already on the hunt for fun, enriching activities that don’t break the bank. Now that children are settled back in school and making up for the time spent learning at home over the course of the last year, parents are more invested than ever in extra-curricular activities that supplement their child’s standard schooling. Our coding camps deliver all that and more!
Usually spanning the course of a full week, camps offer kids -our ninjas – the chance to fully explore one particular area of digital development. Themes range from ‘Adventures in 3D printing’ to ‘Become a YouTuber!’ and ‘Building the beat: a music coding camp’, with many suitable for ages five and up. As we are so keen to communicate here at Code Ninjas, the fundamentals of coding can’t be taught in just one hour – like any other form of educational enrichment, knowledge is gained over the course of an extended period of time. And because we put such emphasis on the importance of fun through learning, camps offer their teachers – called Code Senseisô – the chance to deliver the sessions in a relaxed environment, customised to a pace that suits each individual child.
Our expansion into Scotland is something that we’ve been working towards for quite some time, so we’re delighted to welcome a team of specialists that will be launching our flagship studio in Edinburgh. The team launching the latest location are just as passionate as we are about bringing our specialist coding curriculum to another new country. And with such a diverse population living in the nation’s capital, I’m looking forward to seeing the interest that our offering attracts!
Recruiting our 400th franchisee into the network was a very proud moment for me. When I joined Code Ninjas as CEO last summer, I always knew we would be destined for great things. But to be able to maintain the rapid growth that my team established from day one is a clear indication of how incredibly hard our franchisees have worked to spread the word of our programme. Strength in numbers truly sums up how we do things here at Code Ninjas – working together for a unified goal. I can say with almost certainty that, before the year is out, franchisee number 500 will be on the horizon. And that’s an accomplishment I can’t wait to celebrate.
Justin Nihiser is the CEO of kids coding specialist, Code Ninjas. At locations across the UK, Canada and the US, kids learn to code in a fun, safe and inspiring learning environment. With a game-based curriculum, kids love to learn and parents clearly see results. For more information, visit www.codeninjasfranchise.co.uk
