Two adult learners have spoken to the BBC about how free literacy and
numeracy courses have helped them.
61-year-old Brian Clissold from Brighton was unable to read or write until
he was 27. Although he has managed to work all his life, he found some
basic tasks difficult and never had the time to study to improve. "It
wasn't until this year that I've been able to read books written for
adults,” he explained.
At the age of 60 he decided to sign up for a free Skills For Life course in
adult literacy and IT. This was learning from scratch, explains Clissold:
"They started me off on my ABC's, then capitals and then full stops." Now,
Brian says that he reads every day and is getting through a book a
week.
In hindsight Clissold says he should have attended classes earlier: "Life
may have been very different if I'd been able to read and write
normally."
37-year-old Sarah Brown has also benefitted hugely from adult numeracy
classes and is now at the stage where she is preparing to do her maths
GCSE. Brown’s problem was highlighted when she started to struggle helping
her kids do their homework. She realised then that she needed some help
with her maths.
Brown runs a child minding business and says her new skills help her to
succeed: “My ability to work out spreadsheets and charts has grown so I
don't have to keep running to my husband for his help. Working out tax,
insurance and overheads is really quite complicated, but I'm increasingly
able to work all of those things out for myself."
Why not improve your
English and maths skills by working towards a
nationally recognised qualification with us? 