Twelve free taster sessions at Bury Adult Learning Centre on Saturday 5 September, and one is already full. The full timetable, and what courses cost after.
Bury Adult Learning Service opens its Haymarket Street centre to the public on Saturday 5 September, 10.30am to 2.30pm, and the free taster sessions are bookable now.
There are 12 of them on the day. The council’s own booking system already shows one as full.
The service set the date out in a press release on 19 August and on its open day page. The taster sessions themselves are listed, timed and bookable on the council’s course booking site.
The 12 free tasters, with times
Every session below runs once, on Saturday 5 September, at Bury Adult Learning Centre, and every one is listed free.
| Time | Session | Places |
|---|---|---|
| 10.45am | AI For Everyday Life | Bookable |
| 10.45am | Introduction To Canva | Bookable |
| 10.45am | Find Out About Cybersecurity | Bookable |
| 10.45am | Find Out About Programming | Bookable |
| 10.45am | Selling On Line | Bookable |
| 11.00am | Family Fun, Face Painting | Bookable |
| 11.00am | Family Fun With Numbers (KS1 and KS2) | Bookable |
| 12.30pm | Introduction To Canva | Bookable |
| 12.30pm | Find Out About Cybersecurity | Bookable |
| 12.30pm | Art To Reduce Anxiety & Stress | Places full |
| 12.45pm | Selling On Line | Bookable |
| 1.00pm | Family Fun With Words (KS1 and KS2) | Bookable |
Places were as shown on the council’s booking system on Sunday 30 August. Book through that site, or call the centre on 0161 253 5772.
The council also says there will be drop-in sessions on English and maths and on ESOL, where staff will assess what level you are at, plus an exhibition of last year’s learner work in creative textiles, upholstery, dressmaking and art.
What the courses cost once you enrol
This is the part the open day does not answer, so we read the prospectus.
The council’s booking system lists 119 courses at the time of writing. Of those, 54 are listed free. The rest carry a fee, and the fees are not small at the top end.
- The cheapest paid courses are £5.50 for five sessions, for Art To Reduce Anxiety & Stress and Mindfulness Through Crafts.
- Craft courses are the common paid bracket: Patchwork & Quilting, Soft Furnishing & Upholstery, Oil Painting For All and Sew Easy are all listed at £73.35 to £146.70 for nine sessions.
- Year 1 Spanish, at 25 sessions, is listed at £99.50 to £248.50.
- The highest figure on the list is Intro To ICT Skills E3, 30 sessions, shown as £0.00 to £308.00.
Where a course shows a range starting at £0.00, that is the fee remission banding: some learners pay nothing and others pay the full figure, depending on their circumstances. The council does not publish the qualifying rules on the course page, so if the number matters to you, ask before you enrol. Its help with paying page covers the separate Learner Support Fund, which can help with tuition or exam fees, childcare, class materials and some travel costs on courses that lead to a qualification. That page also says that if the Job Centre has mandated you onto a course, you may not be eligible for it.
English and maths courses are listed free outright, up to Level 2, on the free English and maths page. ESOL is the one subject on the list with no published price at all: the entry reads “Enquire For Costs”.
Where the classes actually are
Most of the borough’s adult learning happens in one building. Of the 119 listed courses, 95 run at Bury Adult Learning Centre. The rest are split between Ramsbottom Library Adult Learning Centre (10), Bury Library (8) and the Creative Living Centre in Prestwich (6).
The council’s learning centres page gives the two main addresses:
- Bury Adult Learning Centre, 18 Haymarket Street, Bury BL9 0AQ, 0161 253 5772
- Ramsbottom Library and Adult Learning Centre, Carr Street, Ramsbottom BL0 9AE, 0161 253 5352 or 0161 253 5425
It adds that the service also teaches at the Mosses Centre in Bury, the Creative Living Centre in Prestwich, Ingeus in Bury, libraries, schools and the Asda in Radcliffe.
What it means for you
If you want a free taster on 5 September, book it now rather than turning up. The sessions run once each, and one has already filled.
The 12 sessions run across five start times, so you cannot do everything. The 10.45am slot alone carries five of them. Pick one, then use the drop-ins and the exhibition for the rest of the four hours.
If you are going for English, maths or ESOL rather than a taster, you do not need to choose in advance. The drop-in sessions exist to assess you and point you at the right level on the day.
And if you cannot make the Saturday, four free courses on the same list start in the following ten days: Prepare To Learn Cybersecurity on Tuesday 8 September at 6pm, then Prepare To Learn Programming and a second Prepare To Learn Cybersecurity on Friday 11 September at 9.30am, and Using Your Phone/Tablet at Bury Library on Monday 14 September at 1pm.
The centre is a few minutes’ walk from Bury Interchange. If you are driving, our guide to parking in Bury covers the town centre car parks and what they charge.
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