Visual and Textual Programming Languages (VisTex) are the two primary language types used in programming education today. A Visual Programming language (VPL) is one which uses more than just text in their workflow (images, blocks, animation etc.). Some examples of VPL include Scratch, Alice and flowchart based systems. A Textual Programming Language (TPL) on the other hand is what most consider a "traditional" programming language, one that might be used in third level education or industry. Examples of TPL include Java, Python and C++. In this thesis, a comparative study will be done examining the usage of visual and textual programming language in a second-level educational setting. In particular, Snap! will be used as the VPL and Java as a TPL. This will be discussed in more detail later. This study will involve the undertaking of a Systematic Literature Review, development and testing of curricula, examining the need for another "hybrid" option, the development of this and then data analysis and conclusions. In this introductory chapter, some of the initial ideas and motivations will be described, research questions will be set and an overview of the remaining chapters in the thesis will be presented.