With the huge variety of adult education options from ballroom dancing and baking to learning another language on offer,
Cambridge has something for everyone
It’s a bit of a cliché, but with its seductive ‘new beginnings’ sentiment, January really is the perfect time to try something new. If you’re determined to seize that fresh-start feeling and finally pursue a hobby that you’ve long fantasised about, enrol on that course or boost your skill set to equip you for a career change, you’ll be pleased to hear that there’s a veritable feast of options here in Cambridge.
Our city is a world-famous seat of learning with a rich tradition of education – but that extends far beyond the rarefied world of ancient university colleges. In fact, there is a cornucopia of adult educational opportunities available, ranging from the hands-on and practical to the delightfully esoteric. From languages to law, astronomy to art, Indian massage to international relations and ballroom dancing to bicycle maintenance, there’s a course or class to serve virtually any learning yen, no matter how niche.
The benefits can be life-changing too, reaching far beyond simply relieving boredom or passing the time. Studies have shown adult learning can boost confidence, well-being and feelings of fulfilment and happiness, providing students with a new zest for life – that’s before we even get to the potential social, physical and professional benefits. So jump right in, the water’s lovely, and make 2017 the year you get on course.
Adult Learn & Train at Parkside Federation
“Adult Learn and Train offer a wide range of courses, training programmes and leisure activities within Parkside Federation Academies and in the community,” says Zoe Sweet, Adult Learn and Train officer at Parkside Federation. “We are here to help you find the right learning for you; whether it is for work purposes, mental stimulation, physical well-being or all three!”
Taking place at venues across the city, Parkside offers a huge breadth of subjects, from the academic (including writing courses, maths, languages and criminology) to a strong range of artistic and creative courses, such as crochet, découpage, flower arranging, lino printing and oil and watercolour painting.
Looking for a more active pursuit? There’s ballroom dancing, Pilates, t’ai chi and yoga, or if you dream of cooking up a storm and need a little guidance, pop on your apron and check out 2017’s cookery classes, which feature bread making, curry club, Let’s Do BBQ and pizza making.
adult-education.parksidefederation.org.uk
Cambridge Cookery School
It’s never too late to equip yourself to become a whizz in the kitchen, and if you invest in your culinary skills you’ll be reaping the delicious rewards for years to come. Cambridge Cookery School, based just off Hills Road, boasts sleek, spacious Scandinavian-style kitchens and serves up a busy schedule of classes catering for all levels, for adults, teens and kids. For the nervous novice there’s a back-to-basics Introduction to Cooking, which puts in place key skills and an understanding of how essential home cooking works. For the more ambitious, try croissants and classic French pastry, sourdough or chocolate making, or if you yearn to learn the secrets of a particular nationality’s cuisine take your pick: there’s Japanese cooking, seasonal Italian, curries of the world, South East Asian cuisine and many more to whet your appetite.
www.cambridgecookeryschool.com
Cambridge Flower School
Whether you’ve always dreamed of learning flower arranging or you’d like to become a professional florist, the lovely Cambridge Flower School, based in Newton, is on hand to make that dream a reality.
The Floristry Career Courses are offered as evening classes throughout the year, as well as intensive one-week courses. Based on practical sessions and theory, and including homework, these are geared towards those with a serious dream of their own shop.
If you’re simply looking to indulge your love of beautiful blooms meanwhile, there’s a huge range of workshops available all year round which cover everything from creating wedding flowers, Christmas wreaths, gifts and more, while you can also book in for a unique hen party or social get-together. New for 2017 are courses including the Business of Floristry and Creating a Website.
www.thecambridgeflowerschool.co.uk
Adult Education at Hills Road
Hills Road offers recreational, academic and vocational subjects from its college in central Cambridge, with daytime and evening classes and some on Saturdays. Most courses last for the duration of one term (ten weeks), but there are academic and vocational courses which last the whole year.
Play genealogical sleuth with a Tracing your Family Roots course, learn how to make money from those bits and bobs which clutter the house with a Selling on eBay class or embrace your inner oenophile with the Wine Appreciation sessions.
Feel inspired by Strictly Come Dancing? You’ll love the Ballroom and Latin Dancing classes, whilst if you’re more of a Great British Sewing Bee devotee, check out the Dressmaking course.
Meanwhile, if you fancy learning a new language you’ll be well catered for, with Hills Road offering a strong programme of courses for all levels. And the benefits could be unexpected! A recent student at the college signed up for Russian beginners level 1 after her daughter had fallen in love with a Russian man whom she intended to marry. Her mother thought that she’d sign up and pick up some Russian so that she could converse with him and his relatives, but got a lot more than she bargained for when she herself fell in love with a fellow student, making for a rather sweet double love story.
You can enrol at any time. Early enrolment is advised to secure a place.
Courses at the Botanic Garden
For 2017, Cambridge University Botanic Gardens is offering its most diverse range of courses to date, covering topics including plant science, botany, horticulture, garden history, art, photography and crafts. “We hope our guide to courses at the Garden will inspire people to learn something new about plants in 2017. As well as offering new subject areas, our courses showcase East of England talent, with many of our tutors being local artists. This year, we are also running more Saturday sessions so more people can attend our courses without having to take time off work.”
In 2017, get stuck into a three-part course on the evolutionary biology of the plant kingdom, or if you’re a would-be botanist, join Ros Bennett for a look at the top 20 British wild flowers and learn about identifying plants. There’s also a five-parter in Garden History, as well as the always popular Botanical Art course, which this year features an introduction to painting on vellum, an illustration session using insects from the Museum of Zoology and learning how to draw plants with natural history artist Lizzie Harper.
Various creative workshops are also on offer, focusing on printing, paper cutting, photography, basketry, writing and more, in addition to gardening courses for all levels.
Cambridge Regional College
Offering apprenticeships, higher education certificates, courses for professional qualifications and leisure classes, Cambridge Regional College (CRC) is one of the largest adult learning providers in the area.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your career prospects, get back into employment, update your technical qualifications or simply take up a new hobby, with such a vast range of topics, qualifications and courses available you’re sure to feel inspired.
For maths and English, there is a range of friendly and free-of-charge courses available, taught by experienced tutors, designed to help students get up to speed in these vital subjects at their own pace, whilst CRC also offers training for the unemployed, geared towards developing skills which employers are looking for (financial help may be available).
The college works with top awarding bodies such as AAT, CACHE, City & Guilds and CIPD to deliver a range of professional business and management qualifications, all taught by industry experts and in fields including accountancy and gas safety.
Leisure courses, meanwhile, are wide ranging and include the creative, such as photography and pottery, as well as the practical, including DIY and basic car maintenance.
The next open day at CRC is on 4 March (9.30am-12.30pm), but you can enrol on courses now.
www.camre.ac.uk/adult-learners
Madingley Hall, Institute of Continuing Education
Madingley Hall’s Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) makes a Cambridge University education available to all, offering a dynamic programme of courses for mature students in an inspirational setting. Whether you opt for a short-term course or longer-term qualification, you’re taught by leading academics in your chosen field, and given a high level of support throughout your studies. The range of subjects on offer is varied, with courses in everything from writing a memoir to reading the Pre-Raphaelites and understanding climate variability. There are options for part-time undergraduate, master’s and post-graduate qualifications. The next open day is on 1 April, with the course programme being announced early this year.
