Coding for kids in Bern: online classes and the Coding Lab

Bern is a city of short distances, and yet a family's weekly schedule fills up fast: school, sport, music, scouts. Parents who want their child to learn programming find few activities for children around Bern, mostly one-off workshops or holiday weeks. Real progress needs something else: a little every week, for months.

Lehrplan 21: a foundation to build on

With Lehrplan 21, "Media and Computer Science" is part of school: algorithms, first programs, data. It is a good foundation, but school time is short. Children who have caught the bug want to go further: build their own game, control a robot, understand how artificial intelligence works.

The Coding Lab: a little further every week

The Coding Lab is our online space for 7 to 15-year-olds, in German, French, English and Italian, handy in a bilingual canton and for the many international families in the federal city. Your child progresses alone, guided by Neo, our little robot who reads the instructions aloud. From age 7, they start with Smart Blocks, blocks to snap together to guide Neo through a village; around 10 comes real Python, then the workshops: the turtle, a virtual robot, games, a website, artificial intelligence, computing puzzles in the style of the Olympiads.

Every step is checked automatically, with hints when things get tricky. You follow progress in a dashboard, with a summary every Monday if you wish. The Lab costs CHF 49 per month (12-month commitment) or CHF 490 per year and is included in our Solo and Duo classes. A mission can be played without an account, right on the page.

With a teacher

Our online Solo classes (from CHF 249/month) or Duo classes (from CHF 169/month per child) offer one session a week with a teacher, in German, French or English, at a time between 9 am and 7 pm. The 30-minute trial class is free. Families in Biel/Bienne and the Bernese Jura have their own guide: coding in Biel/Bienne.

During the Bern school holidays

Autumn, winter or spring holidays: an online coding camp gives a lot of momentum in a week, and the Coding Lab keeps it going all year.

Frequently asked questions in Bern

Do we need to live in the city of Bern? No, everything happens online: Bern, Köniz, Ostermundigen, Muri, Thun or Burgdorf, it makes no difference.

How much time per week? One to two hours in short sessions is enough; nothing is lost from one week to the next.

From what age? From 7 with Smart Blocks, Python around 10. See at what age to start programming.