Pytch team partners with Kinia to produce Irish-language coding resources
Researchers from Trinity, in partnership with Kinia, have produced a new set of Irish-language coding resources designed to support secondary school students beginning to code with Pytch.
The work, which forms part of the Research Ireland-funded Pytch project under the Discover Programme, will see Pytch’s classroom-ready lesson plans made available in Irish for the first time.
Pytch is a free, open-access creative programming environment developed at Trinity to help students move from block-based coding to text-based programming using the Python language. By creating games and interactive projects, students learn core coding concepts in an engaging way designed to broaden participation in computer science.
The Pytch team, from Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics, has been working with Kinia to prepare for Pytch’s inclusion on the Kinia learning platform. Kinia is a non-profit education organisation focused on inclusive learning, equality and opportunity, with a strong national reach supporting over 400,000 children and young people across schools and youth settings.
Through the collaboration, Pytch’s classroom-ready lesson plans will be made more widely available to educators nationwide via the Kinia platform, with resources provided in both English and Irish. This expands access to creative coding for a broad range of schools and learners, while also supporting bilingual teaching and learning in computing.
Pytch is used nationally across formal and informal education settings, with learners creating their own games and other projects. During 2025, the platform recorded over 20,000 sessions. In addition to online use, the Pytch team delivered 27 workshops, engaging 363 students, teachers and mentors, and supported a growing network of educators through train-the-trainer programmes and a developing community of practice.
The project works with a wide range of schools, youth organisations and third-level partners, with a strong focus on reaching underserved and under-represented communities.
The availability of Pytch lesson plans in Irish will benefit thousands of learners. In the 2024/25 academic year, over 57,000 pupils were enrolled in Irish-medium primary and post-primary education across more than 350 schools nationwide.
“We’re excited to build on our successful work helping young learners discover that coding can be fun, creative and rewarding,” said Prof. Glenn Strong, Pytch Project Lead.
“With the launch of Irish-language versions of our classroom resources, we’re broadening access to beginner-friendly programming materials and supporting more students to engage with computing in a way that works for them.”
“The partnership with Kinia removes a key barrier for schools wishing to teach coding through the medium of Irish. It also responds to growing demand for digital and STEM resources that support Irish-medium education in inclusive and multicultural settings.”
Dr Ruth Freeman, Director of Research for Society at Research Ireland commented:
Through free and engaging resources and lessons, Pytch is helping to open up the world of coding to a wider range of learners. Pytch allows students to channel their personal interests and creativity into the learning process while developing lifelong skills. The availability of the lesson plans in Irish will broaden access to native Irish speakers, while helping non-native speakers to strengthen their knowledge of the language through coding. We are delighted to support this programme through the Research Ireland Discover Programme.
Pytch supports the development of transferable skills that are increasingly important across education and employment, including problem-solving, creativity, digital literacy and collaboration. Teachers and mentors report that the platform helps students build confidence, curiosity and persistence while progressing at their own pace.
Marianne Checkley, CEO of Kinia, said:
We’re proud and delighted to be partnering with the Pytch team at Trinity College Dublin on a project that brings creative coding to more learners. Supporting learning through the Irish language while equipping young people with digital and STEM skills is central to Kinia’s mission. By making high-quality, beginner-friendly coding resources available to students and teachers in both English and Irish, this collaboration will help learners build creativity, problem-solving and computational thinking skills, while also supporting Irish-medium education and broadening participation in computer science nationwide.
