A six year old in Aachen can learn what a program is before they can spell "program". By eleven, the same child can work out with Python how far the nearest bottle bank is from Kaiserplatz. This page follows that road one age at a time: what children of 6 to 12 can really do, what NRW schools add from grade 5, which free contests fit this school year, and what a week of live lessons in English looks like for an Aachen family.
Live classes since 2020 · 10,000+ students worldwide · the same friendly mentor each week, in English
For Aachen parents
Modern Age Coders teaches coding to Aachen children aged 6 to 12 in live online classes in English. Younger children solve puzzles and build Scratch games; from about 9 they type real Python and use real data, such as the city's own map of glass containers. One regular mentor adjusts the speed and the English to suit your child, in a group of 15 to 20 children of a similar age or one to one, after school or on weekend mornings.
First courses for Aachen children
Where should a child in Aachen start?
Most families pick one of these three, depending on the child's age and how much they enjoy puzzles.
More than most parents expect, as long as each age gets the right tool. Here is how our mentors plan it.
What we teach at each age (our plan)
Age
Main tool
A typical first project
What it trains
6 to 7
Unplugged puzzles, ScratchJr-style blocks
Guide a robot across a grid of squares
Order, direction, counting steps
7 to 8
Scratch
A cat that walks to a target and speaks
Events, loops, x and y on the stage
8 to 10
Scratch with variables and lists
A game that keeps score and gets faster
Variables, conditions, testing
9 to 12
Typed Python
A quiz, a turtle drawing, then a data file
Precise syntax, reading errors
11 to 12
Python with real data
Find the nearest bottle bank in Aachen
Coordinates, distance, checking answers
This plan is ours. Mentors move a child up or down by what the child can do, not by birthday.
Ages 6 to 8: hands and stories
Young children learn sequences with their bodies first. In class they direct the mentor, or a sprite, one square at a time, "two steps right, one step up", and discover that order matters. Short lessons, lots of praise, no long reading.
By eight, most children can make a Scratch character walk to a point on the stage, which is already the first idea of a coordinate.
Ages 9 to 12: typing and data
Around nine, typing stops being a barrier and Python becomes fun. Children learn that the computer is strict about spelling and that an error message is a clue, not a telling-off.
By eleven or twelve, they can open a real file from Stadt Aachen and answer a real question with it. That moment, when code answers something about their own town, is what keeps children coding.
Aachen schools
When do children in Aachen meet Informatik at school?
In NRW, at the start of secondary school. Before that, at primary school, coding is not a subject of its own.
Aachen children, like children in most of Germany, attend Grundschule from grade 1 to grade 4, according to the Kultusministerkonferenz, and there is no leaving exam at the end of it. They then move to a secondary school. There, the Gesellschaft für Informatik notes in its Informatik-Monitor 2026/27, every general school type in Nordrhein-Westfalen teaches Informatik as a compulsory subject in grades 5 and 6.
Informatik in an Aachen school career
Grades
School stage
Computing at school
1 to 4
Grundschule
No separate Informatik subject
5 and 6
Any secondary school in NRW
Informatik, compulsory for every pupil
From 7
Secondary school
Depends on the school and the pupil's choices
Sources: Kultusministerkonferenz, Primarbereich; Gesellschaft für Informatik, Informatik-Monitor 2026/27, Nordrhein-Westfalen page, read 2 November 2026. We are not connected with the KMK, the Land or any Aachen school.
That gives Aachen families a clear window. Between about 6 and 10, a child who enjoys puzzles has four primary years in which coding is not on the timetable. A child who uses those years for Scratch and a little Python starts grade 5 already comfortable with loops and conditions, and Informatik becomes a subject they look forward to rather than one they catch up in. Our classes sit alongside school and never replace it.
Live, in English
Can my child follow a coding class in English?
Almost always yes. Our classes are only ever taught in English, so the mentors are practised at making that easy.
Only English, no German
We say it early because it matters: our mentors, based in India, teach every class in English. There is no German-language option. For Aachen families near the Belgian and Dutch borders, English is often the language the children share anyway.
Matched to the child
A mentor speaks slowly with a six year old and faster with a confident eleven year old, shows rather than tells, and gets used to each child's accent. Children who mix in a German word are helped, never corrected sharply.
Screens do half the talking
In Scratch and Python, much of a lesson is pointing at a block or a line and trying it. A child with simple school English can follow, and their English grows with the coding.
A real Aachen project
How far is the nearest bottle bank from Kaiserplatz?
Stadt Aachen publishes the location of every public glass container as open data that anyone may reuse. In our classes the eleven and twelve year olds turn it into a lesson on one of the oldest ideas in mathematics, and younger children play the same game on paper.
The map in the file
The city's file has 190 glass containers. Each row has a street, an Ortsteil and a position in metres east and north on the map grid. Mitte has 117 of them; Brand and Laurensberg have 15 each, Eilendorf 11.
For a starting point we use another file from the same city: the list of traffic lights, where the junction numbered K1005 is called simply "Kaiserplatz".
The idea
To get from Kaiserplatz to a container you go some metres east and some metres north. Those two moves are the short sides of a right-angled triangle, and the straight line between the two points is the long side.
Square the east steps, square the north steps, add them, take the square root. Children who have never heard the name Pythagoras use it happily once they have drawn it.
Version 1: find the nearest containerPython
import csv
start_x, start_y = 295242.6, 5628893.9 # traffic light K1005, Kaiserplatz (metres)
nearest = None
with open("aachen_glass.csv", encoding="utf-8") as map_file:
for row in csv.DictReader(map_file):
point = row["wkb_geometry"].strip("POINT ()").split()
x, y = float(point[0]), float(point[1])
steps_east = x - start_x
steps_north = y - start_y
metres = (steps_east ** 2 + steps_north ** 2) ** 0.5
if nearest is None or metres < nearest[0]:
nearest = (metres, row["strasse"], row["ortsteil"])
print("Nearest glass container:", nearest[1], "in", nearest[2])
print("Straight-line distance:", round(nearest[0]), "metres")
It prints: Nearest glass container: Rudolfstraße, Ecke Wenzelstraße in Mitte and Straight-line distance: 228 metres.
The nearest of the 190 is at Rudolfstraße, on the corner of Wenzelstraße, 228 metres from the Kaiserplatz junction as the crow flies. The next four are 335, 460, 560 and 586 metres away. Children then ask the obvious question: is 228 metres the walk? It is not. Streets bend and crossings take time, so a real walk is longer. A straight-line answer is a lower limit, and saying so is part of the answer.
Version 2: how many are close?Python
import csv
start_x, start_y = 295242.6, 5628893.9
close = 0
with open("aachen_glass.csv", encoding="utf-8") as map_file:
rows = list(csv.DictReader(map_file))
for row in rows:
x, y = [float(v) for v in row["wkb_geometry"].strip("POINT ()").split()]
if ((x - start_x) ** 2 + (y - start_y) ** 2) ** 0.5 <= 1000:
close += 1
print("Containers in the file:", len(rows))
print("Within 1 km of Kaiserplatz:", close)
It prints: Containers in the file: 190 and Within 1 km of Kaiserplatz: 16.
Glass containers by distance from Kaiserplatz, straight line (our calculation)
Distance
Containers
Within 1 km
16
Within 2 km
58
Farthest in the file
10,595 m, Friesenrather Weg in Friesenrath
Data: Stadt Aachen, Glascontainer Stadt Aachen and Lichtsignalanlagen (LSA) Stadt Aachen, via Open.NRW and GovData, licence Datenlizenz Deutschland Namensnennung 2.0, downloaded 3 November 2026. Distances are ours, measured in a straight line on the UTM map grid from junction K1005, Kaiserplatz.
Ages 6 to 7, grid paper. Put a star on one square and a bottle on another. Count the squares right and the squares up. Who can find the shortest path along the lines?
Ages 7 to 9, Scratch. Place a sprite at x 0, y 0 and a bottle at x 120, y 90. Glide there in two moves, then in one. Which looks shorter? Use the "distance to" block to check: it says 150.
Python, from about 10. Type in Version 1 yourself, then change the start to your own school's nearest junction from the traffic-light file.
Challenge. Which Ortsteil has the most containers for its size? Before you answer, write down what extra data you would need.
Two free contests
Which coding and maths contests can an Aachen child try this year?
Two big school contests suit children of this age, and neither needs any coding knowledge. Both are entered through the school.
Two contests for children aged 8 to 12, school year 2026 to 2027
Contest
Organiser
When
For children
Informatik-Biber
Bundesweite Informatikwettbewerbe
9 to 20 November 2026
From grade 3: 9 tasks in 30 minutes
Känguru der Mathematik
The Känguru organisers, mathe-kaenguru.de
8 April 2027; school registration 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2027
Grades 3 to 6: 24 problems in 75 minutes
Sources: bwinf.de, Informatik-Biber 2026 pages; mathe-kaenguru.de, read 2 November 2026. The Biber had more than 580,000 participants in 2025. We are not connected with either organiser.
The Biber is a puzzle quiz about hidden rules, orders and shortest paths, so the bottle-bank project is good practice in spirit. The Känguru is a multiple-choice maths contest. The class teacher will know whether your child's school is registered. We never copy either organiser's problems; the practice puzzles in our lessons are written by our mentors and marked as ours.
Times for Aachen
What time are the classes in Aachen?
Mentors teach from India, which is ahead of Aachen, so an Aachen afternoon is their evening. The rows below only illustrate the gap.
Sample Aachen class times and the time in India
In Aachen
In India until 28 March 2027
In India from 28 March 2027
15:15
19:45
18:45
16:15
20:45
19:45
Sunday 10:00
14:30
13:30
Germany uses MEZ (UTC+1) in winter and MESZ (UTC+2) in summer, by the Einheitenzeitgesetz; the 2026 change back was on 25 October, and the next change forward is on 28 March 2027. India is on UTC+5:30 all year, a gap of four and a half hours in winter and three and a half in summer. Example rows only, not fixed batches.
NRW's Christmas holidays run from 23 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 and the summer holidays from 19 July to 31 August 2027, according to the KMK table. Classes continue through holidays, and families who travel simply pause and pick up again.
Small steps
How will I know my child is making progress?
We report against these milestones of our own, in plain words, with something your child built.
Milestones for ages 6 to 12 (ours)
Milestone
Usual age
Your child can
Steps
6 to 7
Give exact instructions in the right order
Repeat
7 to 8
Use a loop instead of copying a block ten times
Remember
8 to 10
Store a score in a variable and change it
Type
9 to 11
Write a short Python program that runs first time, or nearly
Measure
10 to 12
Work out a distance from two positions and say what it leaves out
For parents
The Measure milestone is the bottle-bank project. A child who can say "that is a straight line, the walk is longer" has learned something about every map and every number.
Ask your child to show you their project at the end of a month. Explaining it is half the learning.
For children
Two steps east and two steps north is not four steps away. Draw it and see.
If your program says the bottle bank is 0 metres away, check where you started.
More for children
Nine more courses for Aachen children
Every one is live and in English, with a mentor your child will get to know by name.
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Fees
Fees for Aachen families
One monthly fee covers eight live classes. You see the fee in euro, calculated with the European Central Bank reference rate; the card is charged in US dollars, so your bank converts it and your statement can show a few cents more or less.
What parents and students wrote about us on Google, unedited.
★★★★★
"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
Aachen parents ask
Coding classes for kids in Aachen: questions
Are the classes in German?
No. We teach only in English, and every class is live with a mentor based in India. Mentors keep their English simple for young children, adjust to each child's pace and accent, and show things on screen, so children with basic school English cope well.
At what age can my child start?
At 6. The youngest children begin with puzzles and very simple blocks, in short and playful lessons. Most move to full Scratch at 7 or 8 and to typed Python at about 9.
Is coding taught at Aachen primary schools?
Not as a separate subject. Grundschule runs from grade 1 to 4, and in NRW Informatik becomes a compulsory subject for every pupil in grades 5 and 6 at secondary school, according to the Gesellschaft für Informatik.
When are the classes?
Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. In Aachen most children come after school, from about 15:00, or on a weekend morning.
What does my child need at home?
A laptop or desktop computer with a microphone and a reliable internet connection. A tablet is enough for the first Scratch weeks. Everything we use is free and runs in the browser or installs in minutes.
Can my child enter the Informatik-Biber?
Yes, if the school registers. The Biber 2026 runs from 9 to 20 November 2026, is free and needs no prior knowledge; pupils from grade 3 upward take part during a school lesson. Ask the class teacher.
How many children are in a class?
Group classes have 15 to 20 children of a similar age and stage. If your child would rather work alone with a mentor, the one-to-one plan gives two private classes each week.
Which currency do we pay in?
The card is charged in US dollars. On this page the monthly fee is shown in euro using the ECB reference rate so you can see what to expect, and your bank does the conversion. The first class is free.
What is the bottle-bank project?
An original project of ours on Stadt Aachen's open data. Children find the glass container nearest to the Kaiserplatz traffic light, 228 metres away in a straight line, using east and north steps and Pythagoras, and learn why the real walk is longer.
The trial is a short puzzle and a first program, with you nearby if your child is young. Afterwards the mentor tells you which age group and course would suit, and why.
Live video classes, taught in English by India-based mentors. Message us on WhatsApp for the quickest answer.
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.
