Pop-up shop becomes community learning hub

While school was out for the summer, a pop-up community learning hub was brought to life in Walsall’s Saddlers Shopping Centre by Walsall College.

Since July, the family learning facility has hosted a range of drop-in and pre-arranged sessions and activities for children and people of all ages.  Arts and crafts workshops, story-telling sessions and CV/letter writing support are just some of the sessions proving popular.

In conjunction with the college’s Digital Innovation Hub, 3D printing and VR headset-based learning was also delivered to local families.

College teams have also been raising awareness of study and training opportunities for local adults, school leavers and jobseekers.

Rachel Davies, Director of Faculty for Adults, Foundation and Community said: “Our pop-up learning hub has shown that regardless of your age, background and ability, there’s always something new, fun and rewarding to discover and this doesn’t have to be in a classroom.

“The response from the public to our pop-up venue has been fantastic.  Around 400 people expressed an interest in studying with us.  Demand for specific studies such as IT/digital training and English language-speaking was particularly high, so this is now shaping our community learning provision at our Whitehall and Pleck Library campuses this Autumn and beyond.”

For further information about upcoming community learning events at the college see here.