About this course
Two weeks, four hours a day, one shipped app. Summer Camp compresses a full course into a fortnight, which changes the experience in a way that suits some students enormously: momentum. Students arrive Monday with an idea and spend ten days building it in a room full of people doing the same thing, with coaches on hand the entire time. The final Friday is demo day — every student presents their app to the group and their parents, live, and answers questions about how it works. The compressed format is intense by design, and the daily rhythm alternates focused instruction with long build blocks so nobody spends four hours listening.
Is this the right fit?
- Who it’s for
- Students aged 11–17 who want a summer with something to show for it, at any experience level. Groups are split by age and experience.
- Prerequisites
- None. Beginners and returning students are grouped separately.
- Tools students use
- Age-matched: Replit and Gemini for 11–13; GitHub Copilot and Codex for 13+
What students walk away with
- A shipped, deployed app built in two weeks
- A live demo presented to parents and peers on the final Friday
- The experience of sustained focus on one project, which is rarer than it sounds
- A clear sense of which of our term courses to take next
What a session looks like
- 0:00
Standup
Every student states their goal for the day out loud.
- 0:15
Technique block
The day's skill, taught live and immediately applied.
- 0:45
Build block
Ninety minutes of building with coaches circulating.
- 2:15
Break
Screens off. Non-negotiable.
- 2:30
Second build block
Another long working block, with a mid-point check-in.
- 3:45
Demo and log
Two students demo the day's progress; everyone logs what they did.
Curriculum
Day 1 — Idea to spec
Choosing a project that can realistically ship in nine more days.
Day 2 — First deploy
A live URL on day two, updated every day after.
Day 3 — The core feature
The one thing the app exists to do.
Day 4 — Data and state
Making the app remember things.
Day 5 — Mid-camp review
Every student demos; the group re-scopes anything at risk.
Day 6 — Second feature
The feature that makes it feel finished rather than a prototype.
Day 7 — Test with a stranger
Someone outside camp uses the app while the student watches.
Day 8 — Fix and polish
Working down the list from testing. Mobile, layout, errors.
Day 9 — Dress rehearsal
Full demo run-through with feedback from coaches and peers.
Day 10 — Demo day
Live presentations to parents, with questions.
What’s included
- 40 hours of live instruction across two weeks
- Max 6 students per coach, grouped by age and experience
- Deployment and hosting for the student's app
- Demo day for parents on the final Friday
- A written coach report and a recommendation for what to take next
How to join
- Book a free consultation. We learn about your child, answer your questions, and recommend a starting point — no commitment, no pressure.
- We recommend a course and an age band after the call, based on your child’s experience and goals rather than a form they filled in.
- Reserve a seat when enrollment opens. Classes are capped at six, so bands fill in the order consultations are booked.
Questions first? Email hello@redwoodacademy.ai and a coach will reply.
Frequently asked questions
Is camp online or in person?
Online, in small groups. Students join from home with a computer and a stable connection.
Four hours a day — is that too much screen time?
The day is deliberately broken up: instruction, build block, a genuine screens-off break, then a second build block. Students are building and talking for most of it rather than watching.
My child has never coded. Will they keep up?
Yes. Groups are split by age and experience, and beginners work on projects scoped to ship in ten days. The demo day standard is the same for everyone: explain what you built.
What happens after camp?
Every student gets a written coach report and a recommendation for which term course fits next — usually Vibe Coding for beginners or AI App Building for students who arrived with experience.