Leisure activities and adult learning

What's on at Idea Stores

Idea Stores offer a comprehensive range of activities and courses for all levels to improve your skills, sense of wellbeing and reduce stress.

Cookery

Idea Store Learning has developed a broad range of courses aimed at helping you learn new cookery skills.

Whether you want to learn to cook:

• healthily, vegetarian, vegan, continental or exotic dishes, or
• bake nice breads and cakes

there is a course for you in which you will enjoy learning to be creative in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

You will be taught by highly skilled cookery tutors and supported by a range of excellent resources.

English and maths

Our English and maths courses will support you to improve your reading, writing, and numeracy skills. Our team is supportive, friendly and experienced and will work with you to help you reach your goals.

Fashion and textiles

Idea Stores offer a range of fashion courses from clothes making to hand knitting, covering courses from beginner levels through to advanced levels.

You do not need to own a sewing machine or necessarily have any previous experience to take part in our courses

You can learn:

• how to use a sewing machine
• how to knit
• cut a pattern for a garment, or
• make a softly tailored garment. 

You will be taught to use a range of excellent resources by the friendly and highly skilled fashion team.

Languages

Always wanted to learn another language? We offer a variety of languages from complete beginners to more advanced levels for our most popular languages:

• French
• Spanish
• Mandarin
• Italian.

Broaden your horizons!

ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages

Our ESOL classes take place at Idea Stores across the borough from pre-entry to level one.

All our courses are part-time with the majority of classes running within school hours from 9 am - 3pm.

We also offer a limited number of evening classes. Courses are normally 10-12 weeks long, with three terms over the year.

Performing arts

Idea Store Learning has developed a broad range of dance and performing arts courses aimed at offering you the chance to learn to dance, play an instrument, perform or sing.

Whether you are interested in:

• African,  classical European or Latin American dances
• drums, guitar, piano and singing

we have a course for you on which you will enjoy learning in an energetic, creative, friendly and supportive atmosphere.

You will be taught by highly skilled and experienced dance tutors, choreographers and musicians supported by a range of excellent resources. We can offer you what you need to maintain your standard or to improve and build on it.

Whether you want to become an enthusiastic amateur or aspire to perform professionally, there are courses for you too.

Photography and film

Whether you’re new to photography or want to further explore and deepen your knowledge and technique, Idea Stores have the right courses for you.

The tutors are experienced professional photographers and our courses range from:

• introducing you to basic photography skills
• studio and portrait photography
• and even producing exhibition quality portraits.

They offer classes in Photoshop for photographers and even a course on camera-less photography.

Technical and DIY skills

At Idea Store Learning we offer a range of technical courses including:

• stained glass
• upholstery, and
• woodworking.

Many of the courses we offer are all levels courses, which are a mix of learners of all levels including advanced learners who may be working on individual projects or developing more advanced skills and techniques.

You will be taught by highly skilled upholstery, woodwork and stained glass practitioners and supported by a range of excellent resources.

Visual arts

Unleash your creative side with our wide range of visual arts courses. Whether you are new to visual arts or have some experience, we have a range of courses for you in which you will enjoy learning. 

It may be:

• learning to paint for the first time
• renewing your skills
• wanting to make your own prints
• ceramics
• visualise your interior design ideas, or
• develop your writing creatively.

You will be taught to use a range of excellent resources by friendly and highly skilled team of tutors.