to be shocked at the demise of adult education?

Have you looked up specific clubs/organisations/activities for your interests? I live in a city (not London) which has lots of "adult education" options but some of the better ones are independent. I attend a brilliant weekly language class run by a native speaker and have done quite a few courses (interior design, wine-tasting, pottery) at an independent centre here. Also see if there is anything on meetup.com in your area.

But that can be done online these days.
It makes more sense as I expect numbers wanting to study formal qualifications like GCSEs and A levels as adults isn't that massive so by courses running online mean that it can cover a reasonable amount of students from all over the country in one class.
Average Town College probably wouldn't get the numbers to financially run a class (I can't imagine that 30 adults in one town suddenly decide they want to learn accounting or whatever).

It says a lot about Blair's obsession with his crazy aim of 50% of school leavers going to uni. All resources were directed towards the 16-19 age group and all because he wanted to massage the statistics for growth and GDP and house price growth etc by getting youngsters into huge debt, with the borrowed money being spent on renting a flat and paying tuition fees, so basically using borrowed money to prop up the housing market and finance the growth in universities.

I wasn't talking about "fun". I was talking about adults wanting career changes or to advance their careers with professional qualifications etc., where the lack of specific GCSE or A level subjects (or grades not high enough) prevents them from changing direction/advancing. It's a travesty that there are people unable to change careers or advance their career due to lack of the "right" GCSE or A level subject/grades.

That's my area but all that's happening in my (quite large) local library is stuff for children and toddlers 🙄

It's so sad. It says a lot about how we value education as a society.

I went to adult education in my twenties, after finishing my degree, and managed to get a few certificates that I later went on to use, and that got me better jobs. I've checked over the years what else is available, as I'd love to continue learning, and it doesn't seem to exist anymore. I can't believe such a crucial thing has been quietly rescinded.

Have you tried the skills connect website? All the south west WEMCA region colleges post their adult courses on there.

Funding is an issue, as is eligibility for course funding and evidence to show progression and positive destinations for funding audits. That leaves you with putting on leisure courses which aren’t funded, and therefore cost a large amount.

Not sure where specifically in the SW you are, but Bristol council holds a funding pot for adult courses as does the Well-being Community Hub in Bath. Bath College run leisure and funded provision as does SGS.

@Goldfsh my point is - which I have said several times on this thread - that although formal classes don't seem to exist in colleges anymore there is actually so much out there in other forms.
Community classes, groups or societies.
Private tutors. Online learning.

Bread and roses

Ok that's a valid point.
We need more vocational skills being taught in general (for both school age teens and adults) so if any funding is increased that should be what's offered.
I would be ok with funding for adults if it's to gain a specific qualification leading to a specific job.
But conversational Spanish, pottery and creative writing - sorry no. The government doesn't need to fund that.

The reality is the funding needs to focus on those students.
Currently schools are underfunded. SEN schools especially (there isn't even enough of them).
Those who are struggling in school, missing school, have SEN - they NEED the funding before they reach 19. They need that help then.
Unfortunately the pot of money isn't enough for both helping those who are actually school age and need that help/support plus adults who want to study something for "fun". In a perfect world we would have both. But currently we simply can't afford both.
The priority needs to be those currently in school (or not if they can't cope there) to stop them falling through the net and being left behind.
My daughter is 17. She has no GCSEs. Maybe I am selfish but I would like the funding to go towards students like her - not some bored adults who want to do some classes for the fun of it.
Also no one needs a career change. They want one.

I looked at the possibilitynof doing an Alevel just for fun, or somethjng through OU, and was really shocked at the cost

Fine in theory. But what about reality? What about people who got basic "passes" in their GCSE's but need higher grades to access professional body entry schemes? What about people without A levels who find they need them in later life? What about mature people wanting a career change and finding they need different GCSE's/A levels? You can't write off entire generations on the grounds that "they should have got their GCSE's before they were 19!".

No, I am in Wiltshire.

Are you in West Sussex too, @XenoBitch, or do we reckon this experience is country-wide now?

I also suspect it’s part of the reason so many more people have become isolated, lonely, anxious and depressed.

I did drop out of silversmithing when OFSTED got involved, we did very little actual work at the end and we were meant to spend our time doing research and writing. Some people had attended for a decade and just got on with their own projects with help from the teacher.

I would say that that is very good news because, as I said upthread, doing a pottery class for enjoyment did not lend itself to having to write mission statements about how you were going to use it to progress in life.

However it appears to be a moot point now as such classes seem to have disappeared.

See also creative writing groups, which can devolve into the person with the loudest voice being rude about everyone else's offerings.

This was the OFSTED era - when even non exam, leisure courses had to demonstrate students improved their economic standing and employability. Totally daft and I have tales to tell.

Fortunately OFSTED are no longer interested with the change in funding so no one has to fill in any aims or objectives.

GCSEs are just one type of Level 2 qualifications.
Colleges tend to offer the alternatives (btec etc) because they often appeal to those who couldn't cope with the formal very academic GCSEs.
Unfortunately colleges don't have the funding (or probably student numbers) to offer a typical full set of GCSEs.
My daughter is 17. She doesn't have any GCSEs (Mix of autism and Anxiety Based School Refusal).
Our aim is for her to do the English and Maths GCSEs in the next couple of years but I don't expect colleges to be able to offer the ones usually taken in Year 11.
They just can't do it.

Must be area-dependent then as I have researched this extensively due to my DC's difficulties attending school and there are no providers that offer GCSE courses other than English or Maths post-16. There are level 2 BTEC courses in some colleges but if she wants to do the traditional 8 or 9 GCSEs, just in a delayed time frame, the only option I have found is self-study via distance learning.