Apple has released a new app aimed at making writing code easy to learn and easy to do. Titled Swift Playgrounds, the app allows real coding concepts come to life via an interface that allows students and beginners to explore the company’s programming language, Swift, which is used by developers to create apps for the App Store.

According to Apple, the Swift Playgrounds app is approachable enough for students with no previous programming experience to begin exploring key coding concepts, but also powerful enough for skilled programmers to experiment and express their creativity using Swift.

Craig Federighi of Apple said: “Everyone should have the opportunity to learn coding, and we are excited to bring Swift Playgrounds to the next generation of programmers looking for a fun and easy way to explore key coding concepts using real code. More than 100 schools around the world have already committed to adding Swift Playgrounds to their fall curriculum, and we can’t wait to see what students create with it.”

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The coding app includes lessons that take students through a series of challenges and puzzles to guide three on-screen characters in an immersive graphical world as they learn core coding concepts, like issuing commands, creating functions, performing loops and using conditional code and variables.

It features templates users can modify and build on to create their own programs, with graphics and touch interactions. They can share creations with friends and, since Swift Playgrounds uses real Swift code, can export projects directly to Xcode and turn them into full-fledged iOS and Mac apps.

Swift Playgrounds is a free release on the App Store and is compatible with all iPad Air and iPad Pro models and iPad mini 2 and later running iOS 10.