In our research, we developed and tested a theoretical framework for a programming mentoring workshop, which improves a broad range of student competences in ways that normal classroom contexts would not. Our results show that identifying algorithmic thinking and problem solving with programming skills is not a fully correct approach, as there are many other skills that are needed and can be developed within the framework of computer science education. In our opinion, systems thinking, teamwork or soft skills are at least as important and, in fact, one of the important findings of our research is that these are more important for students than we would believe. The mentoring workshop we present provides a generally applicable theoretical framework to create software development teams of secondary school students, which could be a complementary program to normal school education, where students motivate each other, learn mostly from each other, and where their professional and personal skills grow with surprising efficiency.