Here in the UK there’s currently a big trend around children and coding – computer programming – with the subject included on the national curriculum now for kids as young as five years old.

Part of that trend, though, is the launch of apps and websites aiming to help children get interested in coding when they’re not at school. We’ve written about many of these, from apps like Tynker, ScratchJr and Hakitzu Elite to online competitions like Shaun the Sheep’s Game Academy.

The more the merrier in this area, we reckon. So we’re very interested in the release of CodeQuest for iPad: an app that aims to teach kids to code through a mixture of colourful games and engaging storytelling.

“With CodeQuest they can create, innovate, and style their very first website in basic HTML and CSS,” claims its App Store listing. “Within minutes they’ll be interacting with code as they have never done before. Who knew it could be so easy?”

So, it’s very much based around building websites, which can even be put online and shared with parents through developer Codarica’s secure servers, although the company says this feature is only for children older than 13 years old.

The app looks beautifully presented, with a cast of characters and a plot wrapped around the snippets of HTML and CSS code that children will learn and be tested on. The app also offers updates for parents on how your children are progressing.

Co-founder Lovisa Levin tells us that CodeQuest is aimed mainly at 6-8 year-olds, although we can see slightly older children enjoying it too. The company also has some strong support: one of its mentors is fellow Swedish kid-apps company Toca Boca, and it’s also part of the Disney Accelerator initiative for tech startups.

CodeQuest is a free download for iPad from Apple’s App Store, with no in-app purchases. We’ll be interested to see how it plans to make money in the future, though.