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LEARN TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

On the ball: Adult learning encompasses everything from fashion to rugby studies

Tuesday September 4,2007

By Alison Coleman

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AS millions of youngsters head back to the classroom this week for the start of a new academic year, adults are being encouraged to think about doing the same.

Sign Up Now is a campaign run by Niace (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) to promote the benefits of learning to adults of all ages and to highlight courses at colleges, adult education centres and other community organisations.

The key message of the campaign is that learning can change your life by helping you to discover new hobbies and interests, and develop skills that can lead to a fresh career.

Many courses offer a choice of study options, such as part-time evening classes, home-based correspondence courses and online learning, so even those with work or family commitments have the opportunity to return to learning.

Mark Binney overcame severe dyslexia to train as an outdoor instructor. The 42-year-old from Darlington left school unable to read and write but he never lost sight of his ambition to be a qualified mountain leader.

Three years ago he approached the educational charity Dyslexia Action where his tutor customised a new programme designed around geology and the theory he would need to pass his mountain leader’s exams.

He said: “Once I started learning again, I just couldn’t stop. I’m full of confidence now. Learning has changed my life completely.”

In addition to traditional subjects like languages, art and IT, there are opportunities to enrol on more unusual courses, including science, fiction and culture at the University of Glamorgan, rugby studies at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, fashion buying at Manchester Metropolitan University and road and race car technology at Oxford Brookes University.