to be shocked at the demise of adult education?

@Needmorelego my late father taught me car maintenance when I passed my test over 40 years ago. I could do oil, water, change wipers, change an alternator, top up and change a battery, clean and change points and a carburettor. I even once put in a new clutch! I don’t know what is required regarding car maintenance for the current driving test. I should imagine it’s very limited as modern cars are very complicated and have a lot of components that require computer analysis in a garage. I wouldn’t know where to start. Even changing a tyre nowadays is different as most modern tyres are larger and the wheel nuts often need a power tool to remove them, thats if you even have a spare wheel many modern cars don’t.

I used to do some and always found them interesting - some because of the subject or teacher, and some just the conversations the group would get into.

We used to get similar catalogues from 3 local places - doing everything from cooking to sewing to yoga to photography to local history to foreign languages to various instruments to how to service a diesel engine….a very wide variety of subjects.

Now there is literally nothing unless you want to enroll in an actual level 5 or 6 or beyond course in the Universities and Colleges in the city. Which are all for a full academic year and tend to need at least 2 nights per week for 3 hours , and have exams at the end. But the older courses were 10 weeks long and most were about fun practical learning and did not have exams - and were 1 night a week for just a couple of hours. Nearby.

Decades ago I did silversmithing at the local art college, there was all sorts of classes and you could do it for years and work up to a high standard. They do no classes now (I’ve seen in other areas other art colleges still do).
The local uni does some short courses twice a year but they are the same ones each year.
The local FE college does some around the area in community centres but they tend to be at an introductory level, unlike the art college where you could go for years and work up to a standard.
Ive done some independent art based day things but they are all very expensive and rushed.
Im sad as I would love to do something at the art college with proper instruction in the evenings, but the choices now seem to be full days.

I think there should be funded or subsidised up to Level 3 qualifications for people up to the age of 25 at least. A chance have a go/have another go at GCSEs and A-Levels or V/T levels etc. They get one chance at GCSEs apart from Maths and English which must be done ad nauseum until you pass. What if you don't have the right work ethic at 16 but do at 18?

The funding basis for adult education has completely changed over the years.

The class I teach receives no government funding at all and that's common across all the subjects which could be defined as 'nice to have'. But interest in French conversation, Dress making for beginners for example has just fallen thru the floor. I struggle to get the minimum number of people in my class; when I started teaching we had waiting lists to join.

Costs post the Banking crisis back in 2008/9 stopped a lot of people coming as they couldn't afford classes and they've just never come back.

I'm quite lucky in Kent, there are still loads. Painting, writing, sewing, yoga, languages.

That is true.
But see my comment upthread about lack of funding towards SEN children.
My daughter is 17.
She is autistic and suffered from ABSA (anxiety based school avoidance)
She doesn't have any GCSEs.
Thankfully she is at a SEN school and has an EHCP so can be funded for college until she's 25 so we are hoping she will get some GCSEs in the next few years.
This is the thing - schools are under funded (mainstream and sen). Many do slip through the net and miss out on their education.
Any funding towards Post 19 education should be for people who genuinely did miss out and need help and support to get the basics.
But the current funding isn't even enough for that.
So having funding for adults to learn politics or car maintenance just because they fancy it isn't a priority.
Sorry. But it isn't.

FE colleges don’t do this so much now but the big universities do eg. shortcourses.ed.ac.uk/courses

I have a looonnnggg track recorded with adult education from 1970s to present day. I attended my first class when I was 14. I went to yoga for 2-3 years with my Mum.

I studied English A level which helped get me into uni.

I joined French classes and pottery classes to learn yes, but as you mentioned Goldfish also to meet new people and make friends. Evening classes enabled me to change career.

I have taught in adult education for 20 years and have seen it's decimation - partly through reduced funding, partly through reduced interest from the public, partly through re-focusing on to remedial courses and partly as a reaction to OFSED oversight . Our local offer is paultry to what is was.

Education for adults is still out there but you have to look harder for it. Someone suggested looking at local colleges and universities, and there are many independent venues to - the problem is there's no way source of information about them. I live in Oxfordshire and we have a county wide online information souce called OxOn Arts Info. It is just about arts and crafts but its free to post things and free to use. Classes are still out there but they're taking part in village halls, people's dining rooms, and pubs. A friend of mine runs 'pottery in the pub' classes - I jest not !

Please keep looking -maybe you could say which part of the country you are based in and we may have some suggestions. Any particular subjects you're interested in?

@CurlewKate I think the theory is now that no one should be missing out on education.
In England education is available for free for all 3-19 year olds. No one should be missing out.
It was different when people left at 14, 15 or 16.

If you have a driving license aren't you meant to know car maintenance?
I don't have a license so don't actually know.
I people are driving cars with no idea how to maintain them that's really worrying.

I just put my postcode in. Nothing at all.

Absolutely. It used to be a real opportunity for people who had missed out on education first time round too. I wonder if some of the decline is due to longer working hours and commuting? It’s like a lot of the volunteering people used to do-if you don’t get home til 7.00 you don’t have time for classes or running Scouts. And if it looks as if demand is declining, the vultures will be in with the hatchet…

@ThatsNotAKnife why do you need to go to college to learn car maintenance?
Isn't that part of driving lessons these days?

Goes back long before then. It was late 90s and early 00s when I taught accounting technician courses at our local college of FE and the "adult" side was being wound down back then, and completely stopped around 2002, which is when I was made redundant. The college decided to close down it's entire "business and management" school part of which was the accounting courses, as they converted to an entirely 16-18 year old model and the college management decided to put all resources into vocational courses and basic Maths and English for school leavers.

YANBU to feel this way, but YABU to have only realised this now!

This has been a problem for at least a decade, probably longer, with the focus on college aimed at school leavers.

Unfortunately unless you need it for a job (which I expect would be part of your training) the need for random adults to want to do GCSE Politics is going to be low.
Unless it's for work you don't need a GCSE certificate at the end - just the knowledge. This is where community groups come in. Political societies etc.
Funding for the actual compulsory school age is low (and don't get me started on SEND funding) - I'm sorry but funding for adults to learn something "just because" is not a priority.