ACVO / CHD / 01
Coding for kids
From blocks to apps and games.
Open the syllabusA next step after a club
Three courses for children who enjoy their club
Children who love their club often want more structure and harder challenges.
Australia · Ages 6 to 18 · Free club or taught class
Many Australian schools and libraries host a coding club after the bell, often free and run by volunteers. Online classes, like ours, are paid and taught by a regular teacher. Families sometimes assume one must be a cheaper or dearer version of the other. They are different things, and a lot of children do both. This page explains how volunteer clubs work, compares them fairly with a taught online class, and uses a small reliability model to show something parents rarely think about: how often each format actually runs across a term.
Live teaching since 2020 · 10,000+ students · a regular teacher with cover arranged
In short
An after-school coding club is usually free, run by volunteers in a school or library, and great for trying coding with friends; an online class is paid, taught by a regular teacher and planned to build skills term after term. Clubs also depend on volunteers turning up: in our model, a club needing two volunteers who each come 90% of the time runs on 81% of club days, about 32.4 sessions in 40.
A next step after a club
Children who love their club often want more structure and harder challenges.
How clubs work
One Australian network of volunteer clubs is Code Club Australia, and it describes itself clearly. These lines are quoted from its site and from the global Code Club site.
| Point | In their words |
|---|---|
| What it is | "Free coding clubs to teach digital making skills to Aussie kids aged 8-13" (Code Club Australia) |
| Who can teach | "Anyone can teach Step-by-step lessons and free online training to help you at every stage" (Code Club Australia) |
| Curriculum link | "Code Club projects are aligned to the Australian Digital Technologies Curriculum (NDTC)" (Code Club Australia) |
| Who it is for | "Code Clubs are free and open to all school-aged young people." (codeclub.org) |
| Leaders | "You don't need any coding experience to run a Code Club." (codeclub.org) |
| Reach | "100+ countries have active Code Clubs" (codeclub.org) |
Clubs are designed to be open and easy to start. A teacher, librarian or parent can run one with free projects and online training, even without coding experience.
That is a real strength: it puts coding within reach of children whose families would never pay for a class. Code Club Australia says it is part of the Telstra Foundation.
Because leaders need no coding experience, a child who gets stuck may find the adult in the room cannot always explain why the code fails. Clubs work through set projects rather than a plan for one child's progress.
None of this is a criticism. Clubs and classes simply do different jobs, and knowing the difference helps you use each well.
Sources, read 7 October 2026: Code Club Australia and Code Club, Raspberry Pi Foundation. We are not connected with Code Club and recommend it warmly to families near a club.
Side by side
A fair comparison, factor by factor.
| Factor | Volunteer club | Taught online class |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Usually free | Paid monthly |
| Who leads | Volunteers, teachers or librarians, with or without coding experience | A trained coding teacher |
| What is taught | Set projects, step by step | A plan built around each learner |
| Ages | Code Club Australia targets 8 to 13 | Six to 67 |
| Group | Whoever comes, often a mixed group | Five to ten at a similar level, or one to one |
| Feedback | Informal | Specific skills named for families |
| Where | School or library, after the bell | At home, at a time that suits |
| Runs when | Leaders and room are available | A teacher with cover arranged |
Wants to try coding with friends, for free, close to school.
Enjoys following a project through and being part of a group, and does not mind the pace set by the club.
Has outgrown the club projects, or keeps getting stuck with nobody to explain why.
Wants a plan that moves from blocks to Python and on to their own projects, with a teacher who knows their level.
How often each runs
A weekly activity only helps if it actually happens. Engineers model this with series and parallel reliability, and the same arithmetic works for clubs and classes. The availability figures below are invented for illustration; the method is the point.
| Setup | Rule | Chance a session runs | Sessions out of 40 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club needing two volunteers, each 90% available | Both must come (series) | 0.9 × 0.9 = 0.81 | 32.4 sessions |
| Club with a pool of three volunteers, any two enough | Two or three of three (2-of-3) | 0.972 | 38.9 sessions |
| Class teacher 95% available, cover teacher 95% | Either one is enough (parallel) | 1 − 0.05 × 0.05 = 0.9975 | 39.9 sessions |
Counting the Tuesdays between the start and end of each Victorian school term in 2027 gives 8, 11, 10 and 11, so 40 Tuesdays in the school year. A club meeting every Tuesday in term would have 40 chances to run, before public holidays and school events.
In series, every part must work, so reliabilities multiply and fall quickly. In parallel, any part is enough, so failures multiply instead, and the chance of everything failing becomes tiny.
A club that relies on exactly two volunteers loses about one session in five, even if each volunteer is very reliable. Adding a third volunteer to the pool lifts it to about 39 sessions in 40.
This is why good clubs build a roster of helpers, and why we arrange cover teachers: the weakest point of any weekly activity is the one person it cannot run without.
Older learners can test the model by simulation: generate 40 random weeks in Python, mark each volunteer present with probability 0.9, and count how often the club runs. Over many runs the average settles near 32.4 for the two-volunteer club and near 38.9 for the pool of three, matching the formulas. The Victorian term dates were read on 7 October 2026; the Tuesday counts and all reliabilities are our own arithmetic.
Doing both
For many children, the answer is not either-or. A club and a class can feed each other.
| Pattern | How it works | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Club first, class later | Start at the club; add a class when projects feel easy | Interest is proven before any cost |
| Class plus club | Weekly class for skills; club for friends and fun projects | Structure and community together |
| Class instead of a club | Where no club runs nearby | Coding is still within reach |
| Club helper | An experienced learner helps younger club members | Teaching others deepens understanding |
Learners are welcome to bring a club project to an online lesson. Teachers often use it to explain an idea the club skipped over, such as why a variable resets or a loop never ends.
That turns a half-understood project into a fully understood one.
Clubs depend on a school, library or volunteer starting one, so many areas have none, especially outside the capitals.
In that case a taught online class, or a free first lesson to see whether coding appeals, fills the gap. Our guide to free coding options lists other free routes.
Questions for a club
Clubs are friendly and informal, so a few questions help you understand what your child is getting.
| Question | Why ask |
|---|---|
| Which projects will my child work on this term? | To see whether they are new or repeated |
| Who helps when a child is stuck? | To know whether there is someone who can explain the code |
| What happens if a leader cannot come? | To understand how often sessions might be cancelled |
| Can my child move on to Python? | To know whether the club can follow their progress |
| How can parents help? | Many clubs welcome volunteers, including parents with no coding background |
For more on format choices, see online versus in-person classes and weekly classes versus holiday camps.
From club to class
How children who start at a club often progress.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Club | Scratch projects with friends, following steps |
| 2. Class | A teacher explains why the steps work |
| 3. Python | The move to typed code, with support |
| 4. Own projects | Ideas of their own, sometimes shown back at the club |
Clubs spark interest; classes turn interest into skills that last.
Many children keep going to their club for friends while learning in class.
Teenagers who outgrow a primary club often move straight to a taught class in Python, web or game development.
Some return to their old club as helpers.
The catalogue
All taught live by a regular teacher.
ACVO / CHD / 01
From blocks to apps and games.
Open the syllabusACVO / CHD / 02
Scratch games with a little AI.
Open the syllabusACVO / CHD / 03
Code that builds worlds.
Open the syllabusACVO / TEN / 01
Real projects in Python.
Open the syllabusACVO / TEN / 02
Modern web apps.
Open the syllabusACVO / TEN / 03
Build fast, as a team.
Open the syllabusACVO / ADL / 01
For parents who want to help.
Open the syllabusACVO / ADL / 02
Websites from scratch.
Open the syllabusACVO / ADL / 03
Using AI tools well.
Open the syllabusHow lessons run
A class that runs every week it is meant to.
After school
Weekday afternoons in your state.
Evenings
For teens and adults.
Weekends
Saturday and Sunday slots.
The same teacher each week.
A substitute if the teacher is away.
Not just the next project.
Bring them and understand them.
At home, any state.
Five to ten, or one to one.
Student work
Projects from learners, including some who began at a school club. More on the student labs page.
AI and ML
An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.
AI and ML
A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.
AI and ML
An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.
Web app
A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.
Fees
A club is usually free; our taught online lessons are paid monthly in US dollars, one rate in every country outside India. There is no joining fee and no term contract, so a child can try a term alongside their club and stop at any month's end.
Free first class
USD 0
no card required
Group batch
USD 100
a month, billed in US dollars
One to one
USD 150
a month, billed in US dollars
What families say
Unedited Google reviews from families.
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"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."
Samriddha Mondal
Student
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"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."
Vansh Agarwal
Student
★★★★★
"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."
Sonam Oswal
Parent of Dhairya
★★★★★
"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."
Sonu Goyal
Parent
★★★★★
"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."
Ritu Kedia
Parent
Questions from families
An after-school coding club is a group that meets at a school or library, usually free and run by volunteers, where children work through coding projects together.
In series, every part must work, so reliabilities multiply and the whole is less reliable than any part. In parallel, any one part is enough, so the whole is more reliable than each part.
Many are. Code Club Australia describes its clubs as free coding clubs for Aussie kids aged 8 to 13, and it is part of the Telstra Foundation.
Not necessarily. The global Code Club site says you don't need any coding experience to run a Code Club, and Code Club Australia offers free online training.
A club is a great start and keeps coding fun. Children who want structured progress, harder challenges or the move to Python often add a taught class.
Yes, and many do: the club for friends and fun projects, the class for skills built term by term.
It depends on leaders turning up. In our illustrative model, a club needing two volunteers who each come 90% of the time runs on about 81% of club days.
Many areas have none. A taught online class, or a free first lesson, is a way to start coding without one.
Yes. Teachers often use club projects to explain ideas the club did not have time to cover.
The first lesson costs nothing. Classes after that are paid month by month, with no joining fee, as set out in the fees section.
Elsewhere on this site
More for Australian families comparing coding options.
All of our pages for Australia.
What free options include.
Weekly versus holiday formats.
Comparing the two formats.
The step to Python.
A lesson from start to finish.
Start here
Tell us about your child's club and what they have made. The teacher picks up from there, so the lesson builds on what they already know.
Curious about the method first? Read how we teach or explore the courses.
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