--- title: "The Modern Age Coders Gazette | Toppers, Hackathons & Coding News" description: "The Modern Age Coders Gazette — a monthly broadsheet of CBSE & ICSE topper interviews, hackathon dispatches, alumni spotlights, events and editorials from India's leading coding and maths school for ages 6-65." canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/gazette keywords: ["Modern Age Coders newspaper", "CBSE topper", "ICSE topper", "coding hackathon", "student newspaper", "Howrah coding school", "alumni spotlight", "coding events India"] source: src/pages/gazette.html --- > The Modern Age Coders Gazette — a monthly broadsheet of CBSE & ICSE topper interviews, hackathon dispatches, alumni spotlights, events and editorials from India's leading coding and maths school for ages 6-65. Front Page · Board Results 2026 ## Two Modern Age Coders Top Their Boards Pranay Lohia — 99.2% in ICSE Class 10. Krishnam Bhatter — 98.0% in CBSE Class 10. Two students, the same Saturday classroom, and the slow, patient training of the way they think. **By the Editor** · 30 April Two of our students appear on the board results page this year. Pranay Lohia, ICSE Class 10, ninety-nine point two per cent. Krishnam Bhatter, CBSE Class 10, ninety-eight per cent. They are different boys with different schools and different scripts. What they share is a Saturday morning, a teacher, and the long, patient training of the way they think. Krishnam, asked to describe his time with us, wrote this in his own words: *"The teaching approach of my legendary teachers — Shivam Sir, Mihir Sir and Sonu Sir — is extraordinary. They were not only my teachers but also mentors and friendly figures. The most impressive part was working on real-world projects."* We did not write that for him. He wrote it. We have kept it. The most impressive part was working on real-world projects. — Krishnam We do not believe in shortcuts. We never have. The children who come to us are taught code the way one used to be taught mathematics — with patience, with rules, with proofs. A loop is not a button to press. It is a sentence in a language about thought. A function is not magic. It is a promise the programmer makes to herself, and keeps. By the time these students reach Class 10, they have written and rewritten, and rewritten again. It is fashionable to say that artificial intelligence will write the code from now on, and the children need only learn the prompts. We disagree. The child who knows what is possible is the child who built the small thing first, with her own two hands, on her own computer, on her own Saturday afternoon. The child who has only watched the machine do it for her will, sooner or later, mistake the machine for the work. Pranay and Krishnam did the work. So did the teachers around them, and the parents who said yes to one more class on a Saturday. The board score is the easy part of the story. The thinking is the hard part — and the thinking is what we will keep teaching, every Saturday, to whoever walks in. Continued in the next edition ⟶ What We Teach - Coding for Kids (block-based) - Python & AI for Teens - Java Programming - Computer Science · CBSE & ICSE - Mathematics Mastery - Maths Olympiad Preparation - Corporate & School Programs Live online & in-person at our Howrah campus. Our Toppers · Board Results 2026Page 2 Two of our own. Same Howrah classroom, same Saturday mornings, same belief — that learning to code is learning to think. We could not be prouder. CBSE · Class 10![Krishnam Bhatter](/images/gazette/krishnam-bhatter.jpg)Krishnam Bhatter98.0%Class 10 · Howrah CampusICSE · Class 10![Pranay Lohia](/images/gazette/pranay-lohia.jpg)Pranay Lohia99.2%Class 10 · Howrah CampusEarned, Not Given · Recent CertificatesPage 3 Our certificate is not handed out. It is earned through a deliberately tough exam — written, oral, and project. Below are four students who passed it recently. Their work, their thinking, their proof. ![Paarth — Modern Age Coders Certificate](/images/paarth-certificate.webp) *Paarth Certificate Holder* ![Pratham — Modern Age Coders Certificate](/images/pratham-certificate.webp) *Pratham Certificate Holder* ![Somraj — Modern Age Coders Certificate](/images/somraj-certificate.webp) *Somraj Certificate Holder* ![Vanshika — Modern Age Coders Certificate](/images/vanshika-certificate.webp) *Vanshika Certificate Holder* [Why our certificate is intentionally hard to earn →](/blog/modern-age-coders-certificate-earned-not-given) Editorial · From the Founder's DeskPage 4— Editorial — ## Why Indian Children Must Code Before They Turn Ten A nation that taught its children Sanskrit at six can teach them Python at nine. The cost of waiting any longer is steeper than we admit. There is a quiet panic in our staff-rooms. The children walking into our classrooms this year are different from any cohort we have ever taught. They have asked artificial intelligence for homework help before they have asked their parents. They have read more about prompts than they have about prepositions. And almost none of them — almost — have been given the one tool that turns this confusion into capability: the ability to write code. We are sometimes told that coding is a fashion, that it will go the way of cursive writing. We disagree. Coding is not a fashion. It is a literacy. The child who cannot read English can still navigate the world; the child who cannot write code cannot, increasingly, navigate the future. To say "the AI will write the code" is no answer. The AI must be told, in code, what to do — by someone who knows what is possible. That someone, twenty years from now, will be today's nine-year-old. The good news, after teaching twelve thousand students, is that the brain that solves a quadratic at fourteen is the same brain that writes a recursive function at nine. Mathematics and code are dialects of one language, and the children who know this early — who know that a 'for-loop' and a 'multiplication table' are the same friend in two costumes — they pull ahead. By Class 10 they are unstoppable. By Class 12 they are inventing. We say this not as a sales pitch. We say this as a public concern. India produced 1.6 million engineering graduates last year and not enough of them can build a working web application without help. A nation that aspires to invent must teach its children to invent — and that begins not at IIT but in Class 4, on a Saturday afternoon, with a parent who said yes when their child asked to learn. **— The Editor**The Reading Room · From Our NotebookPage 5 Four pieces from our writing desk this season — on certificates that mean something, on the maths inside code, on why coding is a literacy, and on starting earlier than you think. Brand · About Us ### [The Certificate Is Earned, Not Given](/blog/modern-age-coders-certificate-earned-not-given) Our certification exam is intentionally tough. Written, oral, project. We filter for real skills, real thinking, real effort. No shortcuts, no freebies. [Continue reading →](/blog/modern-age-coders-certificate-earned-not-given)Education · Mathematics ### [The Role of Mathematics in Programming](/blog/role-of-mathematics-programming-logical-problem-solving) Which maths concepts actually matter for code, in what order children should learn them, and why eighty per cent of programming needs only basic maths. [Continue reading →](/blog/role-of-mathematics-programming-logical-problem-solving)Education · Future-Proofing ### [Why Coding Is the New Literacy](/blog/why-coding-is-new-literacy-kids-2025) Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. And now — code. The argument for treating programming as a basic literacy for every child growing up today. [Continue reading →](/blog/why-coding-is-new-literacy-kids-2025)Education · The Long View ### [Why Starting Early Compounds](/blog/why-early-exposure-coding-gives-students-competitive-advantage) Forty-one per cent higher earnings. Three times the entrepreneurship rate. Stronger academics. The research-backed case for putting code in front of a child before Class 8. [Continue reading →](/blog/why-early-exposure-coding-gives-students-competitive-advantage) [Read all our pieces in the full archive →](/blog) To the Editor · Real Letters from Parents & StudentsPage 6 Every word below was sent in by a real parent or student. We did not solicit them. We did not edit them. We have kept them — every one. The full collection lives on [our Love Wall](/love). We not only focus on academics, but also on logic building and problem solving. The teachers explain concepts very clearly and make code fun and easy to understand. The sessions are interactive and they help students boost their confidence. Pragyen Diwan & Aditi Agarwal Parents I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I'm now the topper in my class and can confidently write complex programs with ease. Samriddha Mondal Student What stands out most is how excited my son is before every class — he looks forward to learning, problem-solving, and sharing what he's built afterward. I've noticed a big boost in his confidence. This class has truly sparked a lasting interest in technology. Poonam Rathore Parent It's not just coding here. It's outings, bonding, and most importantly, preparing you for your future. I made new friends and learned valuable coding skills while having the fun of my life. Definitely five stars. Yug Rathore Student My child Dhairya is really enjoying the classes. This is his first online class, and he eagerly looks forward to it. The teachers are very cooperative and listen to our suggestions. They try to apply them in class. Overall, I am very happy. Sonam Sethia Parent of Dhairya They explain complex concepts in an easy way and encourage students to ask questions and think critically. The friendly class atmosphere has boosted my son's confidence and interest in coding. Ritu Kedia Parent The Love Wall · Six Years of NotesPage 7“ The Love Wall is where we keep every kind word a parent has ever sent us. Texts. Voice notes. Emails at 2 a.m. on results-day. Six years of them — pinned, dated, untouched. Real messages from real parents. We did not edit them. We did not solicit them. They wrote in, and we kept the receipts. [Visit the Love Wall →](/love)Today's Brain Teaser · Coding CrosswordPage 812345 #### Across · Five letters each 1. Iteration constructs in Python. 2. Indexed list of values, zero-based. 3. Hunt down the errors. 4. The reasoning behind a program. 5. The speed-up storage layer between you and the database. Solutions printed in the next edition. Cheats: ask your teacher. The Funny PagesPage 9 MAC the Coding Cat *Volume IV · Strip 47 · By the Drawing Desk*IMAC, our hero, decides to print "Hello, World!" for the first time.IIDrat. He has forgotten the break statement. Again.IIITomorrow: MAC discovers indentation. We wish him luck.Classifieds · Courses, Camps & CallsPage 10**Python for Kids** Live online, ages 8–12. Demo class FREE. [Apply →](/python-and-ai-classes-for-kids-teens)**AI & ML Bootcamp** Class 9–12. Real-world projects. Small-batch teaching. [Apply →](/ai-ml-course-for-teens)**Summer Coding Camp** Howrah & online. Four age groups. [Details →](/summer-coding-camp)**Girls-Who-Code** FREE Saturday cohort. Thirty seats only. Apply early. [Apply →](/coding-classes-for-girls)**Maths Mastery** Olympiad-grade prep, Class 6–12. One-on-one. Trial: *₹0*. [Try →](/maths-challenges)**Java for Teens** JEE preparation, project-based. Six months. [Sign up →](/java-programming-for-kids-teens)**Corporate Training** Upskill your engineering team. Custom curriculum. [Brief us →](/business-solutions)**School Partnerships** We co-teach inside your school. [Partner with us →](/schools)**Class 4–7 Beginners** Block-based to text-based. A real pathway, in stages. [Roadmap →](/learn-coding-by-class)**Free Resources** Worksheets, recorded lessons, and the Coding Roadmap — all free. [Download →](/free-resources)**Adult Beginners (25–65)** Yes, you. Weekend Python. We teach the patient. [Begin →](/coding-lang)**Letters & Tips** Got a story for the Gazette? A topper in the family? Write to *hello@modernagecoders.com*. — Subscribe to the Gazette — ## Book a Free Demo Class One trial class. Real teachers. Your child writes code in the first sitting. No card. No pitch. No catch. [Book a Demo](/book-demo)[View Courses](/courses) Or write to us at **hello@modernagecoders.com** — we answer. **Colophon.** Printed and published by Modern Age Coders, Howrah, West Bengal. **Editorial:** Our teaching team. **Letters:** hello@modernagecoders.com. The Gazette is set in Playfair Display, Old Standard TT and UnifrakturCook. Vol. III · No. 47 · 30 April 2026 · All errors are our own. Most are documented. --- *Canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/gazette*