From no coding experience to top of the class

Can you study computer science with no coding experience?

Yes, and I’m proof of it. When I started the IIE Higher Certificate in Mobile Application and Web Development at Emeris Durban North (formerly Varsity College), I hadn’t written a single line of code. Not a website, not a script, nothing. Everything I now tutor, I first had to learn from zero.

Entry-level IT programmes usually start from the fundamentals, because many students arrive with no coding background at all. Classmates who’ve coded before may move faster in the first few weeks. A head start isn’t the same as finishing strong, though. What decides the end of the year is what you do every week, not what you knew on day one.

Is computer science hard for someone with no experience? Parts of it are, and I won’t pretend otherwise. I know what it feels like to sit in a lecture and feel completely lost. But hard usually means new, and new gets easier with repetition.

It started at a Grade 12 Open Day

The turning point was a Faculty of Science and Technology presentation at an Emeris Durban North Open Day, which I attended while I was still in Grade 12. I walked in with no background in coding. I left certain that technology was the field where I could solve problems, build things and help people.

If you’re choosing a course in a field you’ve never tried, a faculty presentation at an open day is worth your time. It shows you what the work actually involves, which a brochure can’t. Take a few questions with you, and listen for honest answers about the first year, not only the highlights.

• Do most first-years arrive with coding experience, or does the course start from the basics?
• What does the first semester actually cover?
• What support is there when a student falls behind?
• What do students usually go on to study or do afterwards?

Learning to code from scratch

I began the Higher Certificate without a single line of code written, so I learned the fundamentals from the ground up. Across my studies since, that has meant HTML, CSS and JavaScript, programming in Python and Java, databases and SQL, systems analysis, mobile development in React Native, information systems and human-computer interaction.

If you’re learning to code from zero, the first weeks feel like learning a new language and a new way of thinking at the same time. That’s because you are. Code is strict about tiny details, and the logic behind it (breaking a problem into small, ordered steps) is a skill of its own. Both improve with practice.

Weighing up that programme specifically? I’ve written a separate, first-hand guide to the IIE Higher Certificate, covering the kinds of subjects, how to keep up and what came after it for me. This page stays with the story, and with the habits that carried me through it.

Top of the class, and a full circle moment

In 2025 I graduated top of my class among more than 200 students in the Higher Certificate at Emeris Education, formerly Varsity College. I also received the Full Stack Impact Award 2025, which is the Faculty of Science and Technology Excellence Award at the Emeris Durban North Student Top Achiever Awards.

Those awards recognised 98 undergraduate and postgraduate students for academic excellence and contribution to campus life. As I told IOL Education, “Receiving this award feels like a full circle moment.” It came from the same campus where I’d sat in that Open Day presentation. Pholoso Manyama’s feature is summarised in my press section, with a link to the full article.

Habit one: be consistent, not heroic

When IOL Education featured my story, I summed up what helped in one line: “It’s about being consistent, asking questions, using the support around you.” None of it is a secret, which is exactly why it’s so easy to skip. Here’s what each part looks like in practice, starting with consistency.

Consistency matters even more in programming, because every topic builds on the last. Loops rely on conditions. Functions package loops and conditions so you can reuse them. Classes bundle functions and data together. Miss a week and the next lecture is built on a gap. A short, regular block of practice does more than a panicked weekend before a test.

• Pick fixed study slots in your week and treat them like lectures.
• Type code out yourself instead of copying and pasting it.
• Redo a practical exercise from a blank file a few days later.
• Keep a running list of what confused you this week.
• End each session knowing your next step, so starting again is easy.

Habit two: ask the question, even if it feels basic

Asking questions is the habit most students resist, usually out of embarrassment. I understand that. But a question asked in week three costs you two minutes. The same confusion carried into an exam costs far more, and by then it’s tangled up with everything built on top of it.

Good questions in class are specific. “I don’t get loops” is hard to answer. “Why does my loop print the last item twice?” can be sorted out in minutes, and you’ll understand loops better for it. Bring the code, the exact error message and what you expected to happen. It’s also how I tutor: no question is too basic, and I’ll sit with you until the penny drops.

Habit three: use the support around you

Most campuses offer more help than students actually use: lecturers’ consultation times, tutors, classmates, study groups and the library. Using it isn’t a sign that you’re behind. It’s a sign that you’re paying attention, and getting help early is far easier than catching up later.

Support also means people outside your course: friends who’ll study with you, family who give you space before a test, a team or club that gets you away from the screen for a while. Nobody does university well entirely alone. If you want someone in your corner for the whole semester, not just one test, my study skills coaching works on exactly these habits with you.

Where I am now: studies, sport and everything else

Today I’m in the second year of an IIE Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences in Application Development, and I’m President of Emeris Voice. I tutor students on and off campus, play hockey, join outreach initiatives, and contribute towards my own tuition fees. That makes for a full week.

So how do you balance studies with sport, leadership and work? There’s no trick. The same three habits do the heavy lifting, and they matter more when the week is full, not less. A packed week leaves no room for cramming, so steady work and early questions are the only plan that holds up.

It’s also why I tutor. Everything I teach, I once had to learn from zero, so I know how to explain it to someone sitting where I was. If you’re starting out, my coding for beginners sessions begin exactly there, at your pace, online or in person in the Durban area.