Did you know that the Botanical Gardens offer courses on everything from portrait photography to…read moregrowing plants (kind of an obvious one that I guess) to yoga? I always presumed this space was used for school groups but I was lucky enough to attend classes here recently - it's a tranquil setting with views of the lovely gardens and the ideal place to loll around on a gym mat (I did yoga in case you're wondering). You can approach the building directly from Westbourne Road (it's a little bit hidden away so look out for the signs) or through the Gardens during later summer opening hours. There's limited parking available at the Study Centre so you may prefer to use the main Gardens' car park. It boasts a number of rooms - they all seem pretty light and airy and they're often decorated with collages made by visiting kids. Looking at their website it would appear that their Summer courses are on hold, which seems a real shame given how much I enjoyed attending classes here and especially in light of the closure of the nearby Adult Education Centre (The Clocktower in Harborne High Street) - with this in mind, its worth phoning ahead to make sure whatever it is you fancied lending your hand to, is still running.

Having stopped by here the other day it was a great little find and I just wish I had one where I…read morelive. They support local people to be more environmentally friendly, have growing clubs for big kids and little kids, a team to visit your home to assess how you can make your home greener as well as a team of local residents to help each other with their gardening. This is a brilliant community organisation, with links to and support from the Quaker Meeting House, they have a great little venue for the clubs to meet as well as craft clubs too but they are also about getting out and about in the community with team members on bikes. I can't grow anything to save my life but maybe I could with the help of a club like this in my hometown.

This place is a great place to develop on your basic numerical or english skills. It is free to…read morelearn there but subject to an eligibility criteria. If you are in employment then you will have to pay for your own courses there. Courses leading to recognised qualifications include an SIA license and those for fork lifiting. You can take your time to do the course at your own pace but you will have to do them at a reasonable pace otherwise they can have you put off the course. If you go and learn at this centre of theirs for a specified number of hours per week then you can be eligible for free travel expenses

I have had a horrific experience here. Became a target of hate on both the Podcasting course (Kanas…read moreWong) & Digital Photography course (Mark Holloway). Both tutors made vulgar remarks in every sentence. Kanas included a case study & a presentation with implied nasty remarks. Some students were also instructed to make nasty remarks of 5 weeks! I have made 2 complaints both have been ignored! Neither tutor taught the course properly & Mark Holloway made sure I didn't receive the learning like the rest of the students! I had my enquiry about courses ignored. The marketing manager also made inappropriate digs. Management know the game they have been playing. I have been a target of hate crime by University of Birmingham, Birmingham MPs,, Conservative & Labour government, corrupt police.

The Brasshouse Language Centre is the largest Adult Education Centre in the UK specialising in…read morelanguage courses and language services. Their staff are from all over the world, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Centre, creating a truly international atmosphere. I came here wanting to learn post GCSE French Language. I was reluctant at first to pick up a language after learning French at school 16 years ago. I was surprised that the registration process was very simplistic and cogent. The fees were also subsidised for concessions. This was helpful for me because I was not employed at that time and wanted to broaden my horizons without breaking my non-exist budget. The teacher I had was very helpful and supportive, she set us regular homework and pointed the class in the right direction for text books and related literature. The class really improved my French and I am looking forward to joining the class at the next level.