News24 September 2026
Our two-day induction kicked off in true Manchester style, complete with rain! Learners explored our Ancoats neighbourhood, got to know the Ada team, and got fully set up on their new laptops. The best part about this being a small, specialised cohort is seeing how quickly the entire group has formed a close bond with one another.
The learners are all taking our T Level Digital Software Development and have almost completed their first month at Ada.
It is such a pleasure to welcome our very first cohort of year 12s in Manchester and to support them on their journey to become professionals in the tech industry. They are rising to the challenge of studying such a technical qualification at a specialist college. I look forward to watching them develop into the young adults that will solve the tech problems of the future.
- – Tina, Principal, Manchester Campus
Our Manchester learners say what they have enjoyed most about their first few weeks is “the freedom we’re given and the trust from teachers” and the “smaller class sizes which make it easier to gain more descriptive and helpful feedback”. Also “the amount of support given by teachers, and the opportunity to share ideas and collaborate with classmates during teamwork activities”.
They all agreed that they are most looking forward to the T Level work placements, workplace visits, guest speakers and other events!
In terms of Industry interactions, our learners have already jumped into inspiring sessions with industry professionals.
We had Connor Malone (Senior Content Designer, DWP) visit us to share his career journey building user-centric apps across various digital teams. He put our learners through their paces with a fast-paced “Crazy 8s” design exercise, challenging them to solve a universal struggle, generating rapid ideas to stop people from hitting the snooze button in the morning.
Tom Crawley (Founder & Full-Stack Developer, Neon Mountain) delivered a fascinating talk walking our learners through the history of software development, how the web transformed the industry, and the core concepts of full-stack development (along with demystifying fun acronyms like WYSIWYG!). He finished off his session with valuable thoughts on AI, reassuring learners that human ideas and fundamental coding skills remain vital, noting that part of his current job is cleaning up the “vibe-coding” messes AI leaves behind!
Our learners have also been busy working on building their professional LinkedIn profiles. They’ve also completed a Student Ambassador training session, equipping them with the skills needed to volunteer at upcoming Ada events, including a Careers Adviser morning, two Open Evenings, an Open Morning and a Computer Science Bootcamp!
Interested in attending one of these events at Ada? Take a look at our event page to sign up to upcoming events:
Also, applications for our 2027 cohort are also now open! If you are currently in Year 11 and interested in applying for a course that combines academic study and work experience, you can apply now.