Why not commit to bettering yourself or doing something positive for your community? There are endless volunteering roles and adult learning opportunities in Cambridgeshire, here’s a taster
Not everyone has sunny memories of their school days. In fact, for many, getting out of school was a bit like leaving the trenches, and a lot of people, we’ll bet, look back on it with a sigh of relief and good riddance. But as an increasing number of local people are discovering, learning later in life can be enriching, fun and even life-changing. Whether to boost your career or help you along the way to another, gain new skills and knowledge, or simply indulge a hobby, there’s plenty on offer in and around Cambridge.
Parkside Community College
Supported by the city council, Skills Funding Agency and European Social Funds, Parkside runs classes on weekends, evenings and in the daytime throughout the week. You can enrol now, which is encouraged as spaces fill up fast. Ongoing courses cover many creative skills, including calligraphy, sugarcraft and upholstery. There’s computing lessons for the over 50s, and t’ai chi, yoga and psychology for anyone looking to improve their well-being. Like Cambridge Regional College, Parkside provides free and funded English and maths courses. English as a foreign language lessons are available, but must be paid for. Languages on offer are Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Parkside also hosts day schools, the first of which will be on 6 February. Head along to learn boxercise, wedding floristry, how to make stained glass or car maintenance, whatever takes your interest.
www.adult-education.parksidefederation.org.uk
Cambridge Regional College
A great institution at which to study if you’re looking to boost your CV and skill set as an employee. Cambridge Regional College offers a variety of professional and technical qualifications, and apprenticeships taught by industry experts and accredited by major industry bodies including City & Guilds and CACHE. These qualifications can help you enter a field that you’re interested in, whether that’s hairdressing or cookery, or help you progress in the industry you’re in. To this end there’s a wide range of managerial and professional courses and qualifications on offer for people looking to climb the career ladder. There are things at the other end of the scale too, including free English and maths courses and low-cost higher education programmes, much lower than average university fees, starting at £3,500 a year. Finally, the college offers a selection of leisure courses, with a focus on DIY and practical skills, such as dressmaking, glass fusing, woodcraft and plumbing!
“There’s a dazzlingly diverse array of courses on offer in Cambridge”
La Dante
La Dante is a bilingual culture association, which is part of the international organisation La Società Dante Alighieri. The centre’s aim is to promote knowledge and the enjoyment of Italian language and culture in Cambridge, and to bring together like-minded people who want to learn more about what Italy has to offer. To this end, La Dante offers a wide variety of very high-quality Italian courses, which cover a range of abilities and purposes. You can take part in casual adult classes or intensive learning programmes, or learn Italian for business. As well as the Italian classes themselves, La Dante runs a host of cultural events including Italian film screenings and lectures on Italian history and literature. It also caters to people whose first language isn’t English, offering academic English and English for law as well as more casual daily conversation skills.
Madingley Hall
The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education offers a vibrant and diverse array of subjects and courses for both personal and professional development. There really is something for everyone here, from short non-credit courses to residential and summer-schools, part-time award-winning programmes, undergraduate certificates and master of studies degrees. These are by and large somewhat more academically focused than others, ranging from archaeology, philosophy, and history to literature and creative writing. This said programmes can also be career conscious, including qualifications in policing, teaching, medicine and criminology. Most of the classes are taught at the Institute’s HQ, the beautiful Madingley Hall, however they can also be found in central Cambridge and in London. Furthermore, there are a number of skills and qualifications offered online, for people who would like or need to work from home. International development, property investment and historic environment are just some of the subjects you can take – in fact, we’ll be surprised if you don’t find something that interests you!
Hills Road
Hills Road presents an assortment of recreational, academic or vocational subjects. Attendees can study part-time during the day or evenings, and sometimes on Saturdays. Most of the courses are for one term of ten weeks, and a few of the academic and vocational courses last for an academic year. The next enrolment evening is on Tuesday 5 January from 5.30pm where you can meet course supervisors and find out a little more about them and how it works. Courses start 18 January, and half-term is 15-19 February. There is a seriously impressive series of courses which include book illustration, ceramics, creative textiles, jewellery making, ballroom dancing, Indian massage, wine appreciation and web design. There’s a huge range of languages on offer, too: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish and Russian. Finally, you can gain certified professional skills, including ESOL qualifications, counselling, proofreading and copy editing skills.
