Norwich school's new learning zone

A £100,000 adult education project at a Norwich school has been hailed as heralding a welcome return to “learning for fun”.

KIM BRISCOE

12 November 2009

A £100,000 adult education project at a Norwich school has been hailed as a welcome return to "learning for fun".

After years of constant pressure to get adult learners to amass qualifications and get better jobs, the government has finally decided to dish out millions on fun learning - and a Norwich school is one of the beneficiaries.

Now the City Academy Norwich, formerly Earlham High School, will be offering free learning workshops to adults, from teaching people how to download photographs from a digital camera, to helping them do their shopping online.

The programme will focus on fun rather than qualifications and will help over-19s get to grips with a whole range of digital technologies, from computers to mobile phones.

The academy has set up a "Future Zone" room, packed full of the very latest technology and Apple Macs and where the sessions will be held until the funding runs out at the end of March next year.

Principal David Brunton said: "No doubt over the years many people will not have had a great experience when they have been involved in learning and this is about breaking down barriers and involving the whole community.

"This isn't just a place for young people, it's a place for the whole community and this room gives a flavour of what the new academy building will be like. We want to raise aspirations, we want people to get into learning and we want people to feel fearless about learning."

The partners in City Academy Norwich (City College Norwich, University of East Anglia, Norfolk County Council and Norwich School) joined with the NELM Development Trust to put in a bid to the Depart-ment for Innovation, Universities and Skills for funds from the government's Transformation Fund.

The partnership secured £99,000 and topped up the total to £100,000, and tomorrow the academy will be open from 10am to noon for people to go along to the Future Zone and find out more about what they can learn.

Dick Palmer, principal of City College Norwich, said the new Future Zone, which is at the Bluebell Road entrance, and the learning programme demonstrated the "ambitions and aspirations" the academy had for Earlham.

He said: "After so many years of cutting back on adult learning and focusing simply on learning for skills and qualifications, it's really good to see some money coming in to the system which is about learning for learning's sake and learning for fun."

Brenda Arthur, Norwich city councillor for the University Ward, said she wanted to see the school turned into a "buzzing" centre of educational and social activity for everyone living in the Earlham area.

For more information about learning opportunities at the school, contact 01603 773654 or visit the open day tomorrow from 10am to noon at the Future Zone at the Bluebell Road entrance to the school. The workshops will be held on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm.