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Our training venues

Why we are different

Wise Owl's Programming Training Courses

Picture of a random Wise Owl trainer
Sam (one of our 7 Wise Owl trainers)

Preferred venue/format

Over 50 Google 5-star reviews

528 attributed reviews

Benefits of our Programming training

Not sure if we deserve all the reviews you can see on this site? Here are some of the things we do (very) differently to earn them.

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Friendly and professional training ... guaranteeed

How can any training company guarantee the quality of their courses? Here's how:

  • We limit our courses to no more than 6 people per class.
  • Unlike almost every other computer training company, we never subcontract or use freelancers - here's why this matters.

The best courseware in the industry? See for yourself

Our course manuals and exercises are by some way the best in the computer training industry. Fortunately you don't have to take our word for this - you can see for yourself:

Genuine integrity - and good manners

Our values are simple - we treat people as we would like to be treated ourselves. So:

  • We will - almost never - cancel courses. To see what "almost never" means see our no cancel guarantee.
  • There's nothing worse than being pestered, so we don't pester people. Ever.
  • It's dangerous to be sanctimionius, but we can see no possible benefit that tobacco and gambling companies bring to the world (and quite a lot of harm), so we choose not to work for them. Sorry.

You can see more on our corporate values here.

Innovative online training platform

We've put a lot of thought into making our online courses as useful and interactive as possbile:

  • Delegates use Remote Desktop to connect to our machines, so our trainers can see everyone's screens at all time.
  • We arrange (without charge) a half-hour pre-course check for each online delegate before courses, to ensure that they everyone will be able to join the course seamlessly when it begins.
  • As well as providing a PDF of the manual and exercises for each online course delegate we will (again without charge) also post this out to each person a few days before if required.

Choose a specific course, or stay on this page to see all of our Programming training.

Course:

Our current Macros and Programming scheduled courses

Can't see the dates/course type that you want? Create your own onsite course (and tailor the content too!).

Course

Dates

Venue/type

Duration

Price

Times

 
We don't have any scheduled courses for this combination of criteria: please try different options.
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 20-21 February 2025 20-21 Feb Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Fully booked
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 27-28 February 2025 27-28 Feb Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Wed/Fri 12-14 March 2025 12-14 Mar Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Mon/Tue 17-18 March 2025 17-18 Mar Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Office Scripts Mon/Tue 17-18 March 2025 17-18 Mar Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Wed/Thu 19-20 March 2025 19-20 Mar Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Python Wed/Fri 19-21 March 2025 19-21 Mar Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Thu/Fri 20-21 March 2025 20-21 Mar Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Thu/Fri 20-21 March 2025 20-21 Mar Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 20-21 March 2025 20-21 Mar Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced VBA Wed/Thu 26-27 March 2025 26-27 Mar Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track C# Wed/Fri 26-28 March 2025 26-28 Mar Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 27-28 March 2025 27-28 Mar Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Thu/Fri 27-28 March 2025 27-28 Mar Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Mon/Tue 31st Mar/1st April 2025 31 Mar-01 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 03-04 April 2025 03-04 Apr Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 08-09 April 2025 08-09 Apr London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 08-09 April 2025 08-09 Apr London 2 days £1,525.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 08-09 April 2025 08-09 Apr London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Thu/Fri 10-11 April 2025 10-11 Apr Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Office Scripts Thu/Fri 10-11 April 2025 10-11 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 14-15 April 2025 14-15 Apr Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Mon/Tue 14-15 April 2025 14-15 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Wed/Thu 16-17 April 2025 16-17 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Excel VBA Tue/Thu 22-24 April 2025 22-24 Apr Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 22-23 April 2025 22-23 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 22-23 April 2025 22-23 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 24-25 April 2025 24-25 Apr Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Thu/Fri 24-25 April 2025 24-25 Apr Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Mon/Wed 28-30 April 2025 28-30 Apr Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 08-09 May 2025 08-09 May Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Thu/Fri 08-09 May 2025 08-09 May Manchester 2 days £1,150.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Mon/Tue 12-13 May 2025 12-13 May Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Office Scripts Mon/Tue 12-13 May 2025 12-13 May Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Wed/Thu 14-15 May 2025 14-15 May Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Wed/Thu 14-15 May 2025 14-15 May Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Thu/Fri 15-16 May 2025 15-16 May Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 19-20 May 2025 19-20 May Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track C# Mon/Wed 19-21 May 2025 19-21 May Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 20-21 May 2025 20-21 May London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 20-21 May 2025 20-21 May London 2 days £1,525.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Tue/Wed 27-28 May 2025 27-28 May Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Python Wed/Fri 28-30 May 2025 28-30 May Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 29-30 May 2025 29-30 May Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced VBA Mon/Tue 02-03 June 2025 02-03 Jun Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 02-03 June 2025 02-03 Jun Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 02-03 June 2025 02-03 Jun Manchester 2 days £1,150.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Tue/Wed 10-11 June 2025 10-11 Jun Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Wed/Fri 11-13 June 2025 11-13 Jun Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Thu/Fri 12-13 June 2025 12-13 Jun Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Excel VBA Mon/Wed 16-18 June 2025 16-18 Jun Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 16-17 June 2025 16-17 Jun Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Mon/Tue 16-17 June 2025 16-17 Jun Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 19-20 June 2025 19-20 Jun Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 19-20 June 2025 19-20 Jun Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 24-25 June 2025 24-25 Jun London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 24-25 June 2025 24-25 Jun London 2 days £1,525.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 24-25 June 2025 24-25 Jun London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 26-27 June 2025 26-27 Jun Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Thu/Fri 26-27 June 2025 26-27 Jun Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 03-04 July 2025 03-04 Jul Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Thu/Fri 03-04 July 2025 03-04 Jul Manchester 2 days £1,150.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 03-04 July 2025 03-04 Jul Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Thu/Fri 10-11 July 2025 10-11 Jul Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Thu/Fri 10-11 July 2025 10-11 Jul Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Office Scripts Thu/Fri 10-11 July 2025 10-11 Jul Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 14-15 July 2025 14-15 Jul Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Wed/Thu 16-17 July 2025 16-17 Jul Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track C# Wed/Fri 16-18 July 2025 16-18 Jul Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 21-22 July 2025 21-22 Jul Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Mon/Wed 21-23 July 2025 21-23 Jul Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 22-23 July 2025 22-23 Jul Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Python Tue/Thu 29-31 July 2025 29-31 Jul Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Wed/Thu 30-31 July 2025 30-31 Jul Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Wed/Thu 30-31 July 2025 30-31 Jul Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced VBA Mon/Tue 04-05 August 2025 04-05 Aug Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Mon/Tue 11-12 August 2025 11-12 Aug Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Mon/Tue 11-12 August 2025 11-12 Aug Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Excel VBA Wed/Fri 13-15 August 2025 13-15 Aug Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Thu/Fri 14-15 August 2025 14-15 Aug Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Thu/Fri 14-15 August 2025 14-15 Aug Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Wed/Thu 20-21 August 2025 20-21 Aug Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 21-22 August 2025 21-22 Aug Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 28-29 August 2025 28-29 Aug Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Thu/Fri 28-29 August 2025 28-29 Aug Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 01-02 September 2025 01-02 Sep Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 01-02 September 2025 01-02 Sep Manchester 2 days £1,150.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Mon/Tue 01-02 September 2025 01-02 Sep Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Tue/Wed 09-10 September 2025 09-10 Sep Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Wed/Fri 10-12 September 2025 10-12 Sep Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Office Scripts Wed/Thu 10-11 September 2025 10-11 Sep Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Thu/Fri 11-12 September 2025 11-12 Sep Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 15-16 September 2025 15-16 Sep Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Mon/Tue 15-16 September 2025 15-16 Sep Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track C# Wed/Fri 17-19 September 2025 17-19 Sep Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 18-19 September 2025 18-19 Sep Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 18-19 September 2025 18-19 Sep Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 23-24 September 2025 23-24 Sep London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 23-24 September 2025 23-24 Sep London 2 days £1,525.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 23-24 September 2025 23-24 Sep London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Mon/Tue 29-30 September 2025 29-30 Sep Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Python Mon/Wed 29th Sep/1st October 2025 29 Sep-01 Oct Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Mon/Tue 29-30 September 2025 29-30 Sep Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced VBA Wed/Thu 01-02 October 2025 01-02 Oct Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 02-03 October 2025 02-03 Oct Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Thu/Fri 02-03 October 2025 02-03 Oct Manchester 2 days £1,150.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 02-03 October 2025 02-03 Oct Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Thu/Fri 09-10 October 2025 09-10 Oct Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 13-14 October 2025 13-14 Oct Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Mon/Tue 13-14 October 2025 13-14 Oct Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Excel VBA Tue/Thu 14-16 October 2025 14-16 Oct Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Thu/Fri 16-17 October 2025 16-17 Oct Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 20-21 October 2025 20-21 Oct Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 21-22 October 2025 21-22 Oct London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 21-22 October 2025 21-22 Oct London 2 days £1,525.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 21-22 October 2025 21-22 Oct London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 21-22 October 2025 21-22 Oct Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Wed/Fri 29-31 October 2025 29-31 Oct Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 30-31 October 2025 30-31 Oct Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Thu/Fri 30-31 October 2025 30-31 Oct Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 03-04 November 2025 03-04 Nov Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 03-04 November 2025 03-04 Nov Manchester 2 days £1,150.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Mon/Tue 03-04 November 2025 03-04 Nov Manchester 2 days £1,050.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Mon/Tue 10-11 November 2025 10-11 Nov Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Office Scripts Mon/Tue 10-11 November 2025 10-11 Nov Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 11-12 November 2025 11-12 Nov Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Thu/Fri 13-14 November 2025 13-14 Nov Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Mon/Tue 17-18 November 2025 17-18 Nov Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Mon/Tue 17-18 November 2025 17-18 Nov Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Thu/Fri 20-21 November 2025 20-21 Nov Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track C# Mon/Wed 24-26 November 2025 24-26 Nov Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Tue/Wed 25-26 November 2025 25-26 Nov London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Tue/Wed 25-26 November 2025 25-26 Nov London 2 days £1,525.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Using AI tools Tue/Wed 25-26 November 2025 25-26 Nov London 2 days £1,425.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Python Wed/Fri 26-28 November 2025 26-28 Nov Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Intermediate C# Thu/Fri 27-28 November 2025 27-28 Nov Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to MySQL (*) Thu/Fri 27-28 November 2025 27-28 Nov Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced VBA Mon/Tue 01-02 December 2025 01-02 Dec Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track SQL Mon/Wed 01-03 December 2025 01-03 Dec Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Excel VBA macros Tue/Wed 09-10 December 2025 09-10 Dec Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Fast track Excel VBA Tue/Thu 09-11 December 2025 09-11 Dec Online 3 days £1,350.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to SQL Thu/Fri 11-12 December 2025 11-12 Dec Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Python Thu/Fri 11-12 December 2025 11-12 Dec Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Advanced SQL Mon/Tue 15-16 December 2025 15-16 Dec Online 2 days £995.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book
Introduction to Visual C# Mon/Tue 15-16 December 2025 15-16 Dec Online 2 days £875.00 + VAT 09:30-16:30 Book

Courses marked with an (*) are new courses (for these courses our usual no cancel guarantee doesn't apply).

If you can't see the course you want listed above, don't despair! If you can muster 3 or 4 people together, it may well be worth organising an onsite course at your office (we'll provide and set up the computers), or else an online course tailored to your needs.

Our Macros and Programming classroom training venues

What other people have said about our Programming training

Here are some comments we've received about our Programming + training. You can see all of our 528 reviews here. We would like to sincerely thank the clients whose names are shown below for kindly agreeing to let us share their feedback.

"I really enjoyed the course and the IT worked well. It was really well delivered by an extremely knowledgeable trainer, who kept us engaged with his humour. He was willing to go above and beyond the course contents to help us."

James Parsonage

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

"Really good overview of Python, and the online course works really well for me."

Sarah Penn

Sellafield Ltd

"Thoroughly enjoyed the two days that we spent with the instructor! He was incredibly enthusiastic and seemed to thrive from the enthusiasm that we showed. His wealth of knowledge on the subject of VBA, the ease to which he could write it, and finally how he was able to deliver, made for a very impressive display! Would highly recommend."

Nathan Simmonds

ReAssure UK Services Limited

"Our trainer was super helpful and always made sure to help/make things clearer if I didn't understand. He really made the course enjoyable too so thanks! "

Lindsay James

Macquarie Energy Leasing

"Another excellent course delivered by Wise Owl. Thank you. Wise Owl content is always delivered in a manner that enthuses and motivates; making often complicated subjects much easier to decipher and digest. I will be using Wise Owl again."

Christopher Evans

Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust

"Course content was great, clear and easy to follow. A great instructor who kept the course engaging and moved at a good pace, with some good jokes cracked too."

Aurelia Heyworth

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG)

About our Programming training

We like programming!  To help you choose which language to learn, we've included a quick guide below.  To avoid any bias, the languages are listed in alphabetical order.

Language

When and why you would use it

C#

Visual C# allows you to build websites and forms-based systems in .NET.

Office Scripts

The new way to automate Excel (and presumably in the future other Microsoft applications) using a language based upon TypeScript.

Python

An increasingly popular language used to manipulate data, scrape websites, analyse statistics and much more besides.

SQL

SQL allows you to extract information from SQL Server databases, and then manipulate it.

VBA

Visual Basic for Applications is the language included in Microsoft Office, and allows you to automate Excel, Access and other programs.

Here are the main courses that we teach in each language:

If you're not a specialist programmer, you'll probably want to avoid learning Python or C#, but becoming proficient in Office Scripts, SQL or VBA may well make you able to do day-to-day tasks more quickly, without needing to resort to getting help from your (busy) IT department all the time.

Whichever language you choose, you'll have to master the same core concepts:

Concept

Explanation

Variables

Variables are places in which you can store single items of data, such as integers, dates and bits of text.

Conditions

At the heart of programming is the ability to test a condition, to see which execution path to follow.

Loops

Also at the heart of programming is the ability to repeat a series of steps a number of times, perhaps while a particular condition is true.

Programming has come on over the years, but the essential principles remain the same (in virtually every language you create variables, test conditions and iterate over loops).  To show the evolution of programming over the decades, here are the languages learnt by the oldest of the Wise Owls:

Decade

Main language learnt

Notes

1980s

Fortran

In early Fortran you had to colour in shapes on punch cards with a 2B pencil!  How times have changed ...

1990s

VBA

The 1990s saw Microsoft roll out Visual Basic for Applications across all of the MIcrosoft Office product range; it's still going strong today.

2000s

SQL

T-SQL is the dialect of SQL used for extracting data from SQL Server.

2010s

C#

C, C++, Java and JavaScript are all variants of C#.

2020s

Python

The up-and-coming language, Python allows you to write more concise code and supports lots of additional libraries.

2030s?

?

What will be the language we will be writing in the AI era?

We don't train in Fortran (thank goodness), but we do still train in the languages from the other decades.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions

Click on any heading below to learn more.

How can I contact you with any questions?

You can reach us in one of the following ways:
Contact method Details
Phone Call us on (0161) 883 3606 and (within normal UK office hours) a friendly and helpful human will answer the phone!
Email Send an email to our inbox and we'll aim to answer it within a couple of working hours.
Web Fill in an enquiry form letting us know what you want to achieve, and we'll do our best to help!

Is there an easy way for me to assess my Programming skills?

You can take the following tests to assess your Macros and Programming skills on this site:
Skills you want to test
Excel VBA
SQL (for SQL Server)
Python

Each tests consists of 20 questions. The tests are free and anonymous, and at the end you'll see a full analysis of your results (as well as a comparison of how well you did relative to everyone else who has previously taken the test).

Do you have any Programming videos?

We've got the following videos on our site to help you to learn Programming:

Category Description Videos

Selecting data in SQL

Learn how to program in Transact-SQL by following this series of tutorials (which roughly reflects the contents of our two-day Introduction to SQL course).

12

Advanced SQL (programming)

Programming in SQL, including using variables, writing stored procedures and working with CTEs and temporary tables (this mirrors the contents of our advanced SQL course).

18

C# Programming

Designed to follow the same syllabus as our C# Introduction course, this tutorial series will teach you how to program in C#.

14

Excel VBA - Basics

Learn how to program in Excel VBA (this tutorial series is an alternative to attending our VBA course).  There are lots more specialist VBA training videos listed in our dedicated VBA videos page, and some more specific to Excel on our Excel videos page.

25

VBA - advanced

A series of miscellaneous VBA videos, on topics like arrays and passing arguments to subroutines.

15

Do you ever blog about Programming?

Whether you're learning to program in SQL, Office Scripts, Python, VBA or C#, we'll have written a blog to help you:
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Head office

Kingsmoor House

Railway Street

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London

Landmark Offices

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LONDON

EC2M 3XD

Manchester

Holiday Inn

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MANCHESTER

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