Hey, that’s actually really cool.

About Copilot education — yeah, the issue is GitHub usually expects either a school email (like .edu) or some proper student verification. Since you’re in middle school and don’t have a school email, it can be a bit harder to get approved.

You can still try applying to the Student Developer Pack and upload something like your school ID or any proof you have. Sometimes they do manual verification, so it’s worth a shot.

If that doesn’t work, then for now you might have to use the free version limits or other tools while learning. Also maybe check if your school can give any kind of official email in the future.

Don’t worry too much about Copilot though — at your stage, learning basics and building small things matters way more than tools.

Good luck 👍

Without a school-issued email, you can still apply through the Student Developer Pack using a document instead. GitHub does manual verification for cases like yours.

Go to education.github.com/pack, click "Get student benefits", select "I'm a student", and when the form asks about your school email, look for the option to verify with a document upload instead. A school ID card or an official enrollment letter from your school both work.

Two things to be realistic about: GitHub Education is primarily designed for secondary school (high school) and up, so approval for middle school is not guaranteed. And if you're currently using the free plan, you still get Copilot access with a monthly limit at no cost while you're learning.

Building an OS is a big goal and Copilot will help, but at your stage the learning you do when Copilot can't help is what sticks most. Good luck with the project.