In September 2014, we saw the introduction of a new computing curriculum that has schoolchildren in England from the age of five learning how to apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation. Alongside supporting responsible, competent, confident and creative users of technology -- who are able to evaluate and apply these technologies analytically to solve real-world problems -- they are developing the ability to analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing programs in order to solve such problems.

Reflecting on the third year of this new curriculum in England (alongside substantial reforms taking place in Wales and the rest of the UK), which in its official documentation declares that “a high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world”, I'll highlight some of its successes, as well as articulating its future challenges...including how "it’s not just about programming".