As its name suggests, this book is aimed at those who want to teach themselves computer science. Does that mean, then, that it has no relevance or value to school students? No, because the author’s intention is to present the basic concepts of computer science in a reasonably accessible way.

While the scope of the topics it covers does not completely align with the Computing Programme of Study, enough concepts do, suggesting that a school library copy would not come amiss. Indeed, the new teacher of computing will probably find it useful.

Despite its genial tone and readability, however, the text becomes challenging quite quickly, and can appear rather daunting. Adopting Python as his program of choice, Althoff takes us through searching, sorting, data structure, and more. Each chapter ends with a challenge or two, and the book itself closes with advice on how to secure a job in programming.

This article first appeared in Teach Secondary magazine.