The 2025 Young Coders Competition, themed “Budgeting Better” and supported by pocket-money app nimbl, has crowned its winners. Children aged 8–13 designed games to teach financial literacy through coding. Each winning school receives £200, and participating students earn the CREST Discovery Award, a nationally recognised STEM credential.
Competition Winners and Recognition
Overall winner Alice from Croydon High School described her surprise and enjoyment:
“I feel happy and proud, and also feel quite surprised, because I didn’t expect to be the Overall Winner! I enjoyed the competition because it was a fun way to help me learn new ways to code, and I like telling stories through games and interesting characters too. I started coding when I was in Year 2, and I have also been coding with Mrs Krishnamurthy in her classes. I also like looking for online coding tutorials for some of my favourite games.”
Primary category winners Leila, Emily, and Lois from Richmond added:
“We were so excited when we found out we had won! We loved that the competition had a theme, and we spent a lot of time making our game better and better. We first got into coding through a computer club at our school.”
nimbl’s CEO, Alana Parsons, emphasised the competition’s role in blending coding with life skills:
“At nimbl, we believe that teaching financial literacy from an early age is just as essential as introducing coding and digital skills. We’re proud to support initiatives like Young Coders that combine creativity, practical life skills and future-ready thinking, and we’re committed to backing even more opportunities like this in the future.”
Gender Diversity on the Rise
Girls now comprise 46% of participants—up from 37% in 2024—marking significant progress toward gender balance in tech. Evie Lea, STEM Ambassador Coordinator for the East Midlands, reflected on these gains:
“It’s inspiring to see more young girls stepping confidently into STEM spaces. Representation matters, and when students meet ambassadors who look like them or share their interests, it makes futures in science, tech, and engineering feel genuinely achievable. We’ve come a long way since my school days, and it’s great to see competitions like this helping to close the gap.”
AI in the Classroom
This year’s challenge also wove in artificial intelligence, helping teachers integrate emerging technologies into lessons. Free resources and curriculum-aligned support enable educators to explore AI alongside pupils.
“There are lots of jobs in the future that we haven’t even imagined yet. This competition gives young people a foothold in the industry, and helps give teachers the resources and confidence to teach alongside AI rather than against it.”
— Evie Lea, STEM Ambassador Coordinator, East Midlands
Looking Ahead to 2026
Planning is already underway for Young Coders 2026, which will expand its challenges and continue offering free workshops and resources for teachers. Schools can register for updates at www.codingcompetition.org.
