FunTech - Maidenhead

Janet Cooper

Our sons have done several camps with FunTech and we have always found the quality of teaching excellent. The teachers are knowledgeable and engaging. We tried another tech camp last summer but the quality of the teachers did not compare. I grew up in the Silicon Valley so we were keen to find a good programme that properly educates our children about technology and they learn from a young age not to fear it.

We had an incident this past camp where one of my sons was being bullied. We know this can happen at any school or any camp but FunTech dealt with it swiftly and appropriately. Their response was exemplary and we have complete confidence that our sons are in good hands. They love FunTech and are keen to go back soon.

Ruth Stone

Our experience of FunTech was so disappointing. My daughters were really looking forward to going to FunTech. Unfortunately, this was by far the worst summer camp experience they ever had. They did the Lego Robotics course and there was a "showcase" for the parents on the Friday afternoon. When my husband and I came to the showcase, my youngest was in tears. Apparently the instructor hadn't had time to charge the batteries for her robot the day before so she wasn't able to participate that day (the instructor confirmed this and said there weren't any spare batteries!! He gave her a bar of chocolate as "reward" for dealing well with not being able to participate. When we showed up (at 4pm for a prearranged showcase!) three of the children were watching YouTube videos. Apparently the children were specifically instructed to watch videos on YouTube whenever they had downtime (which was frequent). My daughters found this mind numbingly dull and I am astounded that a very expensive summer camp would use YouTube instead of having sufficient instructors or activities. On top of all this, the instructor I met explained that the girls had had three different instructors in 5 days!! He apologised he didn't know the children well and that he didn't have much experience or training since he was brought in as an third replacement!! Really not good enough in any circumstance but especially for a camp that costs almost about £100 a day per child!

Elizabeth Guest

I sent my three boys age 11, 9 & 8, to the Fun Tech camps in Chester. They love computers and were in heaven being taught by young adults who were extremely knowledgeable. They are given ample screen free breaks which gives them a chance to hang out with like minded kids and make new friends. Also, they accept childcare vouchers; which makes a considerable difference to the cost. Most surprising to me was how eager my kids were to get back to camp each day; these are kids who usually have to be forced through the school gates. They all had a whale of a time, it is more expensive than a typical summer camp in the Chester area but my kids learnt so much and raved about their experience so it was money well spent. I would recommend if you have children who are into the tech world and want to have fun.

Ricardo Bravo

Not recommended. At the Canary Wharf summer camp, day 3 of 5, our 9y old son told us that he was kicked, punched, and pinched by another boy during lunchtime in the park, without any of the staff seeing anything. Our son also told us they were not really watching the younger children. After informing the camp via email, a supervisor was sent the next day. However the other boy still managed to pinch our son strongly in the neck, after which the staff had to intervene. A written report on the incident was provided at night time by email on that day, and only upon our request. No written apology has been received for the kicking and punching of our son. This is not what what you would expect from a very expensive course provider. Our 11y old daughter had a lovely time, instead, and the owner/staff remained in contact with us constantly, but, for us, this was quite a negative experience.

Clair Collins

Kept my child safe but that was about it. The tutors were ill equipped to look after children and didn't seem to have had much training - the show and tell at the end of the Roblox course was pathetic... my daughter had lost all her work when the computer crashed so she had nothing to show except a very basic course. No log-in sent to help her continue her progress after the course as promised but they tried to flog us an expensive add-on and the next week (yes we were foolish enough to sign up for two before we knew how bad they were!), the tutor attempted a reward chart system to help control the kids which backfired badly and just ended de-motivating them. The FunTyper course was better and to be fair she liked going to both (mainly so she could play games in Roblox rather than learn to code it!) but given the extortionate cost of the course, the organisation generally was atrocious, the tutors were lacking enthusiasm, the servers kept crashing, and we personally won't be considering them again in future. Really really unimpressed overall. Like others have said, they're just a money spinner... we had much better experiences with CodeCamp at a fraction of the price and the only reason we ended up with these courses was location. If you want value for money and for your kids to actually learn something rather than just be kept safe, I would avoid these courses like the plague.

Kasia Bielska

I was a student back when they first started up until 2003. I completed a GCSE with an A grade, and obtained advanced knowledge through other courses that really helped me stand out amongst my colleague in my workplace. I am now a parent of a student that attends. I completely trust them with my daughters education, so much so that she is going to do her GCSE with them rather than at her Grammar School. She reported to me that the teaching was so much more thorough. She has just done a fast track course and has finished the Python Coder virtual summer camp. She was always good at Scratch but she previously never had the confidence to use Python at home. After a 2 week course she is now writing 500+ lines of code with ease, and enjoys creating complicated Telltale style text-based adventure games. They have also been fabulous with my daughter's SENs.

I would 100% recommend giving Funtech a chance and try a serious computing course. I'd also advise to complete an initial assessment, to check the course you're considering is right for your child's abilities at their current age.

Thank you for being a great constant for my child during these unstable Covid times.

Michelle Brown

My son has attended Funtech since he was around 10 years old. Firstly the fantastic Summer camps, then the Pure Coder series. More recently he completed his A Level computing. Funtech have bent over backwards to accommodate my son during years of ill health, and have gone above and beyond to help him. I cannot thank them all enough. Shen is just amazing and a huge support to parents. A special mention to Priyam, personable, positive, and above all a fantastic teacher. The end of an era - we will miss you all so much.

Adam Jamal

Our son has attended Funtech camps for the last three summers and loves them. He comes back full of enthusiasm to show us what he'd learnt. He's already talking about which camp he wants to do next year.