Northfield Evening Courses

Beginners' Spanish. This ten-week course meets on Monday evenings from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm and costs 95 pounds. It is designed for complete beginners and concentrates on speaking and listening, with simple reading practice. No textbook needs to be bought, because all materials are provided. The tutor, who grew up in Madrid, uses songs and games to build confidence, and homework is optional but encouraged. Digital photography. This course meets on Wednesday evenings from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm for eight weeks and costs 85 pounds. Students should bring their own camera, which may be a phone, and should be ready to take photographs between sessions. There will be a group exhibition in the centre's foyer on the final evening. The tutor, a former newspaper photographer, reviews each student's best three pictures every week. Pottery. This ten-week course runs on Thursday evenings from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm and costs 110 pounds, including clay, glazes and the firing of up to six finished pieces. Please wear old clothes and bring an apron. No experience is necessary. Students may continue to use the studio on Saturday mornings for a small additional fee. Book-keeping for small businesses. Meeting on Tuesday evenings from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm for twelve weeks, this course costs 130 pounds. It covers records, invoices, tax returns and the use of simple accounting software, and students who attend at least ten sessions receive a certificate. No previous experience is needed, only basic arithmetic. Enrolling. You can enrol online, by telephone or at the centre's front desk, where staff will be happy to advise on which course suits you. The centre has a free car park behind the building, open until 10.00 pm. Places are limited to fourteen students per course and are given in order of payment. A discount of 20 per cent is offered to people over 60 and to people who are not in paid work. A course will be cancelled if fewer than eight students have enrolled one week before it begins, and fees will be refunded in full. If you withdraw more than seven days before the start, you will also receive a full refund, but after that date fees cannot be returned. From the principal. People often tell me they are too old, or too busy, or too out of practice to begin learning something new. I have taught adults for thirty years, and I have never met anyone who regretted starting. The people who struggle most are not the slowest learners but those who expect to be perfect at once. Our classes are small on purpose so that nobody gets lost. Come with curiosity and a little patience, and you will be surprised by how much you can do after ten weeks.