In one Recklinghausen household the seven year old wants to make a game, the fourteen year old has heard that AI will change every job, and a parent wants to automate the spreadsheet that eats every Friday afternoon. All three can learn the same craft, at different depths. This page sets out where each age begins, what an NRW school already covers, which AI tools each age is allowed to use, and a small project on the town's own charging points that teaches a mistake even professionals make with averages.
Teaching live online since 2020 · 10,000+ students worldwide · from first blocks to working models
In short
Modern Age Coders teaches coding and AI to Recklinghausen learners of every age, live over video and in English: Scratch then Python from age 6, data and machine learning for teenagers, and practical Python with AI services for adults. Each learner keeps one mentor, based in India, who adapts to their speed and way of speaking. You choose a class of fifteen to twenty or private lessons, after school, after work or at the weekend.
One starting point per age
Three courses for learners in Recklinghausen
A child, a teenager and an adult need different first steps. These are the three we suggest most often after a free first class.
Who are coding and AI classes in Recklinghausen for?
For anyone from about six who wants to make a computer do something new, and is willing to think it through rather than copy an answer. The first steps differ by age; the habits we teach do not.
Where each age usually starts with us, and what the first months look like (our own plan)
Learner
First tool
First months
Where it leads
6 to 8
Scratch blocks
Moving sprites, simple games, stories that react to a click
Loops and events without typing
9 to 12
Python, typed
Turtle drawings, number games, a first look at how a program decides
Small AI projects, lists and real data
13 to 18
Python and data
Reading files, cleaning them, first models checked against a simple guess
Machine learning, competitions, Informatik support
Adults
Python and work data
Scripts for files and spreadsheets, then AI services called from code
Automation, data analysis, a new career path
Our own placement plan. After the free first class the mentor may suggest a different starting point; a twelve year old who already codes can join teenagers, and an adult beginner can start as slowly as a child.
One craft, three depths
A seven year old learns that a computer follows instructions exactly, in order, and that a loop saves writing the same step twenty times. A teenager learns the same idea when a program reads ten thousand rows of data. An adult learns it again when a script renames four hundred files that used to take an afternoon.
That is why one family can share the same mentor style without sharing a class. Each learner is grouped with people of a similar age and level.
Thinking before typing
We teach learners to work out a problem before they ask any tool to solve it: what is the input, what should come out, how would you check the answer by hand? AI tools are part of the course for the ages that may use them, but a learner who cannot check an answer has not learned anything from it.
Every learner on this page, from Scratch to machine learning, writes and runs their own code in class. The mentor guides; the learner drives.
NRW schools
What do schools in Recklinghausen teach about Informatik?
More than many parents remember from their own school days, though not much of it after grade 6 unless a pupil chooses the subject. Recklinghausen schools follow the rules of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Compulsory in grades 5 and 6
The Gesellschaft für Informatik sums up the NRW rule in its Informatik-Monitor 2026/27: Informatik is a compulsory subject in grades 5 and 6 at every type of general school. So a Recklinghausen child meets the subject soon after leaving Grundschule, whichever secondary school they attend.
From grade 7 on, Informatik is something a pupil opts into; at a G9 Gymnasium it can be picked as a Wahlpflicht subject in grades 9 and 10. In the Oberstufe it can be taken as a Grundkurs of three hours a week or a Leistungskurs of five hours in the Qualifikationsphase, where a school offers it.
The exam is written on paper
The written Informatik Abitur in NRW is set centrally, and the same monitor notes that no computer is used to answer the written tasks. A pupil has to read, trace and write code by hand, which rewards understanding over trial and error at a keyboard.
Across Germany only about 15 percent of pupils take Informatik in the Qualifikationsphase, the monitor estimates. Most young people in Recklinghausen will therefore leave school with two years of compulsory Informatik and no more.
Informatik and maths milestones for a Recklinghausen pupil, school year 2026/27
When
What happens
Where it comes from
Grades 5 and 6
Informatik compulsory at every general school
NRW rule, Informatik-Monitor 2026/27
End of grade 10
Zentrale Prüfungen 10 (ZP10) in German, maths and English
Sources: Gesellschaft für Informatik, Informatik-Monitor 2026/27, North Rhine-Westphalia page and national summary; Ministerium für Schule und Bildung NRW, ZP10 and Abitur 2027 dates. Read on 2 November 2026. NRW Gymnasien follow the nine-year route (G9).
How powerful is a public charging point in Recklinghausen?
The Bundesnetzagentur publishes a register of public charging stations for electric cars, free to reuse under a Creative Commons licence. We use the Recklinghausen rows to teach a trap that hides inside the word "average", and that matters just as much when an AI model is scored.
The data
The register is called the Ladesäulenregister. The file we downloaded on 3 November 2026 is dated 1 September 2026 and lists every charging station whose operator has completed the Bundesnetzagentur's reporting process, so the true number in town can be higher. The first ten lines are notes; the column names only start on line 11.
We kept the 109 stations whose place is given as Recklinghausen, all marked as in operation, and saved four columns from them as recklinghausen_charging.csv: the kind of station, the number of charging points, the rated power in kilowatts and the date it went into service.
The question
A station can have one charging point or several. Its rated power is for the station as a whole, so we share it evenly across its points, an assumption we make for this exercise and say out loud.
Then we ask: what is the average power of one charging point in Recklinghausen? There are two honest-looking ways to calculate it, and they give different answers. The task is to find out which one answers the question we asked.
Version 1: two averages from the same filePython
import csv
with open("recklinghausen_charging.csv", encoding="utf-8") as f:
sites = list(csv.DictReader(f))
points = [int(s["points"]) for s in sites]
power = [float(s["kw"]) for s in sites]
print("Charging stations:", len(sites), " charging points:", sum(points))
# average of the per-station shares: every station counts once
per_point = [kw / n for kw, n in zip(power, points)]
print("Average of station averages:", round(sum(per_point) / len(per_point), 1), "kW per point")
# total power over total points: every charging point counts once
print("Total power / total points:", round(sum(power) / sum(points), 1), "kW per point")
It prints Charging stations: 109 charging points: 168, then Average of station averages: 47.6 kW per point and Total power / total points: 56.2 kW per point.
The first number treats every station as one vote. A single-point station at 22 kilowatts counts exactly as much as a station with two fast points at 300 kilowatts. The second number treats every charging point as one vote, which is what the question asked for. The gap of almost nine kilowatts is not a rounding error: it appears because the big fast stations tend to have more points than the small ones, so giving each station one vote quietly shrinks them.
Version 2: split by kind of stationPython
groups = {}
for s in sites:
g = groups.setdefault(s["kind"], [0, 0.0, 0])
g[0] += 1 # stations
g[1] += float(s["kw"]) # power
g[2] += int(s["points"]) # points
for kind, (n, kw, pts) in sorted(groups.items()):
print(kind, n, "stations,", pts, "points,", round(kw / pts, 1), "kW per point")
It prints Normalladeeinrichtung 74 stations, 94 points, 18.4 kW per point and Schnellladeeinrichtung 35 stations, 74 points, 104.4 kW per point.
Public charging in Recklinghausen by kind of station, register of 1 September 2026 (our calculation)
Kind of station
Stations
Charging points
kW per point
Normal charging
74
94
18.4
Fast charging
35
74
104.4
All
109
168
56.2
Data: Bundesnetzagentur, Ladesäulenregister, file of 1 September 2026, rows with place Recklinghausen, licence CC BY 4.0, attribution Bundesnetzagentur.de; downloaded 3 November 2026. Sharing a station's power evenly across its points, and every figure in the table, are our own work.
Look at the last column. Fast stations are a third of the stations but deliver 104.4 kilowatts per point, more than five times the normal ones. More stations went into service in 2023 than in any other year, 46 of them, and the single most common setup is one point at 22 kilowatts, found at 45 stations. The overall 56.2 sits between the two kinds, pulled towards the fast ones because they carry 74 of the 168 points. That is the whole lesson in one line: an average of group averages is only right if every group is the same size, and here they are not.
The same trap appears in machine learning, where it has a name. A model that sorts photos into classes can be scored by averaging its accuracy class by class, the macro average, or over every photo, the micro average. With uneven classes the two disagree, exactly as the stations did, and a report that does not say which one it used can make a weak model look strong.
Children, 9 to 12. Two classes take a quiz: one of 10 pupils averages 8 points, one of 30 averages 5. Is the average pupil score 6.5? Work it out with counters before using any code.
Teenagers. Run both versions, then write a third that weights each station by its number of points and check it gives 56.2.
Adults. Find an average in a report at work and ask what each row stands for. Recalculate it the other way and see if the story changes.
Going further. Group the stations by the year they went into service and compute the power per point for each year. Which years pull the average up?
AI, safely and by age
Which AI tools may a child, a teenager or an adult use?
Each AI company writes an age limit into its terms of use. Because we teach six year olds and sixty year olds, we keep to those limits course by course.
Age limits written into each provider's terms, and what that means in our courses
Tool or approach
Age limit
In our classes
Python and its libraries
None
Every age; the learner writes the code
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
13
From 13, and under 18 only with a parent's permission
Claude (Anthropic)
18
Adult courses only, never with under-18 learners
Each limit is quoted from the company's terms, with a link and the date it was read, on our guide to AI tool ages. Terms are revised now and then; we look again before a course starts.
Children build, not chat
Children under 13 learn how AI works by making tiny models in Scratch and Python: a program that learns which answer goes with which example. They need no account anywhere, and they see that a machine only knows what its examples showed it.
Teenagers train and test
Teenagers write models on real data and measure them honestly against a simple guess. Pupils who want a target can aim at the Bundeswettbewerb Künstliche Intelligenz, which accepts projects in German or in English. We are not connected with it.
Adults put AI to work
Adults learn to call AI services from their own scripts and, from 18, to use coding agents such as Claude Code, always reviewing and testing what the tool wrote. The skill is judging the output, not typing the prompt.
Younger children can also enter a free puzzle contest this month without writing any code: the Informatik-Biber runs from 9 to 20 November 2026 for grades 3 to 13 and is entered through the school. Our Biber practice page has original puzzles in the same spirit, and the learn to think, not copy AI page explains how we keep AI from doing a learner's thinking.
Class times
When do classes run in Recklinghausen time?
Younger learners tend to log in once homework is done, teenagers around tea time or on Saturdays, adults once the working day is over. The mentor sits in India, where it is already evening.
Four example slots, read on both clocks
Recklinghausen
Mentor in India, to 27 March 2027
Mentor in India, after the clocks change
16:15
20:45
19:45
18:00
22:30
21:30
Saturday 11:30
16:00
15:00
Sunday 10:00
14:30
13:30
German law (the Einheitenzeitgesetz) puts Recklinghausen on MEZ, one hour ahead of UTC, through the winter and on MESZ, two hours ahead, through the summer. The clocks went back on 25 October 2026 and go forward on 28 March 2027. India does not change its clocks (UTC+5:30), so the mentor is four and a half hours ahead now and three and a half from spring. The rows are examples only.
NRW school holidays in the 2026/27 school year
Holiday
Dates
Autumn (Herbstferien)
17 to 31 October 2026
Christmas
23 December 2026 to 6 January 2027
Easter (Osterferien)
22 March to 3 April 2027
Whitsun
18 May 2027
Summer
19 July to 31 August 2027
Source: Kultusministerkonferenz, Ferienregelung 2026/27 (FER2026_27.pdf), North Rhine-Westphalia row, dated 9 October 2025. Classes continue through school holidays; families who travel pause and pick up again.
The booking form shows times in your own clock, so nobody has to do the sums. Recklinghausen learners join from all over the town and from nearby Herten, Marl, Castrop-Rauxel, Datteln and Oer-Erkenschwick; the class is online, so only the internet connection has to reach.
Milestones
What a learner can do at each stage
Our own milestones, used across all ages to place a learner and to report progress in plain terms.
Five stages we use for every age (our own scale)
Stage
Usually reached
What the learner can do
1. Instructions
Week 1
Give a computer steps in order and predict what it will do
2. Repetition and choice
Month 1
Use loops and conditions to avoid repeating work
3. Data
Months 2 to 4
Read a file, count and average it, and say what each row stands for
4. Models
Months 4 to 8
Fit a simple model and test it against a plain guess
5. Own project
Months 8 and up
Plan, build and explain a project, including its limits
For parents
Stage 3 is where the charging point project sits. A learner who asks what each row stands for will read every average in the news more carefully.
We report what your child built and explained, not minutes spent at a screen.
For adult learners
Before you trust an average at work, ask whether every row was meant to count the same.
An automation you understand line by line is worth more than a longer one you cannot fix.
More courses
Nine more courses for Recklinghausen learners
Same format for each: taught live, in English, by a mentor who stays with the learner, as a class or as private lessons.
I
Children
Ages 6 to 12
REC / KIDS / 01
Coding for kids
From Scratch games to apps and a first taste of AI.
A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.
by Krish
Fees
Fees for learners in Recklinghausen
One monthly fee covers eight live classes. The euro figure you see is converted from our US dollar price with the ECB reference rate; the payment is then made in dollars, so your bank converts it and may book a slightly different amount.
Reviews from students and parents, copied from Google as they were written.
★★★★★
"The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content."
Ria Mukherjee
Parent
★★★★★
"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
★★★★★
"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
Recklinghausen learners ask
Coding and AI classes in Recklinghausen: common questions
Are the classes in German?
No, never. We teach only in English, live, and the mentor adjusts speed and pronunciation to the learner. Python and Scratch are built from English words anyway, so learners in Recklinghausen pick up the language of code and the language of the lesson together.
How young can a learner start?
Six. Children of 6 to 8 start with Scratch blocks, which need no typing, and most move to typed Python at about 9. There is no upper age limit for the adult courses.
Can a parent and a child both learn?
Yes, but in separate classes. Children, teenagers and adults are grouped by age and level, so each learns at the right depth. Families often book the free first classes on the same day.
Do schools in Recklinghausen teach coding already?
Yes, briefly. The Gesellschaft für Informatik reports that every general school in NRW has compulsory Informatik in grades 5 and 6. After that it is an elective, and only about 15 percent of pupils nationally take it in the Qualifikationsphase.
Will my child use ChatGPT in class?
Not under 13, because OpenAI sets 13 as its minimum age, and from 13 to 17 only with a parent's permission. Children learn how AI works by building small models in Python and Scratch, which needs no account.
When are classes in Recklinghausen time?
Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. Children usually come in the late afternoon and adults in the early evening.
Where are the teachers?
Our mentors are based in India and teach live over video. India is four and a half hours ahead of Recklinghausen in winter and three and a half in summer, which is why German afternoons and evenings suit both sides.
Which currency do I pay in?
The page shows euro, worked out from the ECB reference rate, while the card or bank payment is made in US dollars. Because your bank does the exchange, its figure may move by a few cents. Nothing is charged for the first class.
Can an adult with no experience learn AI?
Yes. The adult route starts with Python from the first line and moves to data and AI services once the basics are secure. Most adults begin with something from their own work, such as a spreadsheet they update every week.
What is the charging point project?
An exercise on the Bundesnetzagentur register of public charging stations, using the 109 Recklinghausen stations in the file of 1 September 2026. It shows why an average of station averages gives 47.6 kilowatts per point while the true figure is 56.2.
Tell us the learner's age and what they would like to make. The mentor sets a short task at that level, watches how they think, and suggests the course and group that fit, all in English.
If you would like to read more first, how we teach walks through a class, and all courses lists every syllabus.
Classes are live online with mentors in India, taught in English only. WhatsApp, in English, is the quickest way to reach us.
Want a class sooner? Book a priority demo
A priority demo is a full class of about 45 to 60 minutes. After the class the mentor sends a written skill report and a personal learning roadmap on WhatsApp. If you enrol, the demo fee is adjusted against your first month's fee. Share your demo Order ID with us on WhatsApp and we take it off.
