Rated 4.8 on Google · 57 reviews · Enrolling for September 2026

The Luminary Tech Path

A weekday GCSE programme for home educating families, taught at The Exchange in Shirley, Solihull, and nowhere else. Six specialist subjects, three ability groups and a specialist teacher for each subject, Monday to Wednesday with an optional fourth day.

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From £350 a month · £3,850 for the year on three days · £90 registration per child

In person, never online Placed by assessment, not age Ten per group, maximum

Luminary Tech Path students building electronics projects at The Exchange

Robocoders at The Exchange, Shirley

6subjects, two hours each every week

12taught hours a week

3ability groups

10per group, maximum

exam board

exam centre 20713

Electronics exam board

centre B02424001247

registered childcare

The record so far

Every first-year GCSE candidate passed

The Luminary Tech Path 2025/26 entered its first GCSE candidates and every one of them passed, sitting their exams here at our own JCQ-registered exam centre, listed on the JCQ register as Robocode Learning Centre, centre number 20713, so you can check it for yourself. Your child is taught by subject specialists, in a group matched to their level, and sits their exams in the building they learn in.

This is not tuition on a screen and not a homework club. It is a structured weekday programme with a published curriculum, real assessment and real qualifications at the end of it.

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Luminary Tech Path candidates sitting a GCSE paper in the exam room

Sitting their papers at our own exam centre

How it works

From enrolling to a full timetable, in three weeks

Enrol online. Choose your days and your payment plan; it takes about five minutes. Places are limited to ten per group and allocated in order of registration.

Week one: baseline. An assessment in every subject from 7 September, and you receive the results.

Placed by week three. Your child joins Comet, Nova or Luminary in week two and starts the full timetable in week three.

Enrolment closes Saturday 5 September. Groups are capped at ten and places are allocated in order of registration, so enrolling early is the only way to be sure of a place.

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The week

Three core days, with an optional fourth

Four taught hours a day, Monday to Wednesday. The Forge opens every single day at 09:30. Thursday is optional, for Qur'an and Arabic GCSE.

Time	Monday to Wednesday
09:30 to 10:00	The Forge
10:00 to 11:00	Lesson 1
11:00 to 12:00	Lesson 2
12:00 to 12:30	Break
12:30 to 13:30	Lesson 3
13:30 to 14:30	Lesson 4
Thursday, optional	Qur'an and Arabic GCSE, 10:00 to 14:30

The Robocode games room, with a table tennis table and graffiti wall

Break time at The Exchange

How the day runs

Teachers stay, groups move

Each teacher keeps their own room all day and the groups move between them. No lost time at the start of a lesson, and every room is set up for its subject.

The curriculum

Six subjects, two hours each, every week

Every child studies all six. There are no optional subjects, so no child loses a core hour because a class did not fill.

Mathematics

GCSE, Higher tier

English Language

GCSE

Biology

Combined Science

Chemistry and Physics

Combined Science

Electronics

GCSE

Mandarin

GCSE

AQA Combined Science is worth two GCSEs. It covers Biology, Chemistry and Physics, so it carries four hours a week and two subject specialists rather than one.

Every subject is taught twice a week, on two different days. That gap is what makes homework work: it is set in one lesson and gone through at the start of the next. One piece a week per subject, written into the exercise book, and checked.

Every day at 09:30

The Forge

Character built into the rhythm of the week rather than a separate lesson. Children move from being consumers of technology to creators of it, and from followers into people with direction, discipline and purpose.

Leadership
Leadership history
Enterprise
Fitness and health
Rhetoric and public speaking
Character

Luminary Tech Path students presenting their work

Standing up and speaking for their work

The three groups

Every child is assessed before they are placed

Every child sits a baseline assessment in week one and you receive the result. Children are placed in week two, and reassessed every term, so a child who moves quickly moves group. Your child is not held back by the slowest student in the class, and not rushed by the fastest.

Comet

Beginners and younger learners

Building the foundations in every subject.

Nova

Developing, mid stage

Working towards the GCSE route with depth and pace.

Luminary

GCSE track

Taught apart, with exam technique and the required practicals.

Maximum ten children per group.

Progress you can see

How you see the work

Week by week plans

Every subject has a published year plan showing what is taught in which week, including assessment and exam weeks. You get it at the start of the year.

Books that come home

All work in dated exercise books, with worksheets stuck in and the teacher's comments on the page. Not loose folders, not take-home packs.

Termly reports

After each assessment week, with the baseline and reassessment results behind them. Homework completion is recorded and appears in the report.

Parents' evening

After each exam week. You book a slot directly with your child's teachers.

Behind the scenes, every teacher is observed and every set of books checked fortnightly, against one marking policy. That is how the promises above stay true in week 30, not just week 3.

An instructor helping students with Arduino

Childcare and paying for your place

Ofsted registered childcare

Robocode is registered with Ofsted as a childcare provider at The Exchange, Shirley, Solihull. Registration number 2715832, which you can look up on Ofsted's register, and the Luminary Tech Path runs as registered weekday childcare provision there. We are SEND inclusive and every member of staff is DBS checked.

Tax-Free Childcare is accepted. You can pay for your place through your government Tax-Free Childcare account, and we provide a proper invoice and a receipt for every payment, dated the day the money arrives. Whatever scheme you use to reclaim costs, the pattern is the same: you pay first, and reclaim after with our paperwork.

Check your Tax-Free Childcare eligibility first. Support generally ends on 1 September after a child's 11th birthday, or their 16th where the child is disabled and qualifies under the scheme rules. Families of secondary-age learners should confirm eligibility with HM Revenue & Customs before planning to pay this way.

A child who has not paid is not on the register, and a child who is not on the register cannot be admitted to the building. The register is how we know who is on site, which is a safeguarding requirement and not only a commercial one. The payment terms set out exactly how this works, including the five written stages every family goes through before attendance stops.

Fees

One price for every family, three ways to pay it

Prices are per child. Choose how to spread the year when you register. Three days works out at roughly £8 an hour of specialist teaching.

Monthly11 payments for a full year, the first at registration, then the 10th of each monthMost chosen Three-day · Mon to Wed£350a month · £3,850 for the year Four-day · Mon to Thu£450a month · £4,950 for the year Standard rate

Termly3 payments · at registration, 1 December, 1 March Three-day · Mon to Wed£1,220a term · £3,660 for the year Four-day · Mon to Thu£1,570a term · £4,710 for the year Save £190 / £240

Annual1 payment · at registration Three-day · Mon to Wed£3,500a year · one month free Four-day · Mon to Thu£4,500a year · one month free Save £350 / £450

Registration £90 one off per new starter Siblings 10% off tuition for two children, 15% for three or more. Two children on three days is £630 a month, not £700 GCSE exam entries charged separately at cost, around £250 to £280 per entry, always confirmed in writing before any entry is made Payment card or Direct Debit through Stripe, or Tax-Free Childcare

Enrol now

The full payment terms, covering plans, refunds and your 14-day cancellation right, are part of the Robocode Customer Terms, and you agree to them as part of registering.

The parent guide

The week, the subjects, homework and reports, the fees, and the policies you sign.

Download the parent guide

One correction before you read it: the last page of the guide names a registration deadline that has now passed. Where enrolment stands today is on this page, at the top, and it is the one to go by.

Cover of the Luminary Tech Path parent guide 2026/27

What parents say

4.8 on Google, from 57 reviews

My son did the GCSE Luminary Tech Path 25/26 at Robocode and sat his exams there. The teachers are very skilled and nice individuals. The way they handled the entire process was beyond my expectations, from scheduling the exams to keeping me updated. I strongly recommend Robocode to parents and students looking for a trustworthy school and exam centre.

LTP parent · Luminary Tech Path 2025/26 · ★★★★★ Google

Passionate and young staff, committed to teaching the kids. My son's made friends and has done several courses now.

Chris Elliott · Parent · ★★★★★ Google

Term dates 2026/27

Three terms, and the two weeks we differ

Laid out the way your school does it, so you can read the two side by side. We differ on two weeks, both marked below.

Autumn term

Term starts: Monday 7 September 2026
Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October
Term ends: Wednesday 23 December 2026
Holidays: Thursday 24 December to Friday 1 January

We teach 21, 22 and 23 December. Solihull schools break up on the 18th; we carry on for one more week.

Spring term

Term starts: Monday 4 January 2027
Half term: Monday 15 to Friday 19 February
Eid al-Fitr: Closed for the week, dates to be confirmed
Term ends: Wednesday 31 March 2027
Holidays: Thursday 1 to Friday 9 April

We teach 29, 30 and 31 March. Solihull schools break up on the 25th; again we carry on for the week.

Summer term

Term starts: Monday 12 April 2027
Bank holiday: Monday 3 May, closed
Half term: Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June
Year ends: Wednesday 21 July 2027
Thursday 22 July if your child does the optional fourth day

Teaching is Monday to Wednesday, with Thursday optional for Qur'an and Arabic GCSE. Every date above is a Wednesday finish for the three-day week and a Thursday finish for the four-day week.

Where we are

The Exchange, Shirley

The Luminary Tech Path is taught here and nowhere else. Parking is on site, and the 6 and the S2 stop on Haslucks Green Road.

Where the Tech Path runs

Robocode Solihull, at The Exchange in Shirley

The Exchange

26 Haslucks Green Road
Shirley, Solihull
B90 2EL

Get directions

Open days run on the first Saturday of each month. If you would rather come another time, email ltp@robocode.uk and we will arrange it.

Questions

Asked by almost every family

What happens with phones?

LTP runs a no-phone day. Phones are handed in at the door, available at break for anything urgent, and returned at the end of the day. Parents who need to reach their child during the day call the centre on 0121 661 9222.

How is behaviour handled?

Our behaviour expectations are in force from day one, with a clear route for persistent disruption. The stage-by-stage response our staff follow is published in the footer of this site as the behaviour response ladder, so you can see exactly what happens and who owns each step. Children do not leave the site during the day without written consent, and end-of-day handover is supervised. The full arrangements are in the welcome pack every family receives before the first day.

My child has special educational needs. Can you support them?

We are SEND inclusive and we handle needs individually: at the start of term we talk through your child's needs with you and agree the adaptations we can genuinely make, such as movement or sensory breaks where realistic. We will always be honest if a need is beyond what our setting can support well. We would rather tell you that than let your child down.

My child already does Computer Science or Robotics at Robocode. What happens to that?

Computer Science and BCS Robotics move to the regular Robocode programme on weekends and after school. Your child continues from exactly the stage they reached. Nobody restarts, and the arrangement is confirmed in writing before term begins. Ask us at ltp@robocode.uk and we will set it up.

What if we change our minds after registering?

You have a 14-day cooling-off period from the day you pay: leave within it and we refund what you paid for the place, less any classes your child has been to. The £90 joining fee is kept. After that, leaving takes one full calendar month's notice. Ask in the app, by email to ltp@robocode.uk or on WhatsApp, and your notice runs from the day you ask, with fees payable during the notice month. The payment terms spell both out.

Can I just cancel the card or Direct Debit to withdraw?

No. Cancelling a payment method is not notice of withdrawal, and neither is stopping attending. Withdrawal needs written notice to ltp@robocode.uk so we can confirm the date, settle the account and refund anything you have paid ahead.

Do you run this at other Robocode centres?

No. The Luminary Tech Path runs only at The Exchange in Shirley, Solihull. Robocode runs classes and camps at other sites, and franchises elsewhere in the country, but this programme is taught here and nowhere else, by the specialist teachers based here. If travelling to Shirley three days a week is not workable for you, tell us and we will point you to what we do run near you.

Can I pay with Tax-Free Childcare?

Yes. Choose Tax-Free Childcare when you register and we send you the steps and a payment reference; we confirm the place as soon as your payment arrives. Check your eligibility first: support generally ends on 1 September after a child's 11th birthday (16th where the child is disabled and qualifies), so many secondary-age learners are outside the scheme.

Who teaches, and how do I know it is working?

Each subject has its own specialist teacher who keeps their own room. You get the published week-by-week year plan at the start of the year, dated exercise books that come home, a termly report after each assessment week, and a parents' evening after each exam week booked directly with the teachers.

Places for this term

Book a visit and a baseline assessment

Come in, meet the teachers, and your child sits a baseline in each subject. You get the result in writing and an honest answer on whether the programme suits them.

Step 1 of 2 · About you

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Email address*

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When would you like to start?

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Saved only on this device while you type, and removed when you finish.

How your details are used

Your answers are saved only on this device so they can follow you to the enrolment page; they are removed when you finish, or after a day. We use what you send here to talk to you about the Luminary Tech Path and to plan places. We keep enquiries so we can contact you about the programme in future, and we do not delete them automatically. You can ask us at any time what we hold about you or your child, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by emailing ltp@robocode.uk. When you send an enquiry, our server sends Meta your email address, phone number, first name and last name, each hashed (turned into a scrambled code), with the country, the reference Meta gave the advert click that brought you (if any), the page address and the campaign name. Meta compares the codes with its own users to tell us whether your enquiry came from one of our adverts, and it never receives your child's details. Email us if you would rather it did not, and we will stop. We never sell your details. Our Privacy Policy says who else helps us handle them, and why.

Enrolment closes Saturday 5 September

Ten per group, allocated in order of registration. Enrolment closes Saturday 5 September, and teaching starts Monday 7 September.

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4.8 · Google reviews Enrol now