8.3       Non-vocational courses

8.4       Studying English as a foreign language

8.5       Arts and crafts courses and hobbies

8.1              Vocational Training

There is a wide range of vocational courses (courses which lead to a professional qualification) on offer in Aberdeen. There are two universities in Aberdeen; The University of Aberdeen, 01224 - 273601, www.abdn.ac.uk and The Robert Gordon University, 01224 - 262000, www.rgu.ac.uk, both of which offer a wide variety of graduate and post-graduate diplomas and degree courses.

The website for each university gives full details of all courses and student services including contact names and numbers for each individual course. You can telephone and discuss further details of the courses. The academic year starts in September and runs through to May when examinations are usually held. For full degree courses, applications usually have to be made by December in the year preceding the year in which you wish to start your studies, so you will need to plan ahead. In the autumn, both universities hold Open Days for prospective students. Look out for advertisements in the local press or ring and ask for the respective dates. You will get the opportunity to meet a variety of staff and current students and to look around the university buildings.

Aberdeen College (General information line 01224 - 612330, www.abcol.ac.uk) runs a large number of courses leading to Higher National Certificate and Higher National Diploma awards. These courses are more demanding than the national qualifications obtained on leaving school (in Scotland these are called Standard Grades and Highers) but not as challenging as university degrees. The College also offers many courses leading to Scottish Vocational Qualifications which are undertaken in conjunction with working in such professions as car mechanics, hairdressing, beauty therapy and catering. The College also offers courses in the English language.

8.2              Distance Learning

If committing to a full time course is difficult due to family commitments or periods of absence from the UK, Aberdeen University offers opportunities to sign up for part time courses through its Key Learning Programme. Courses generally run in the evening and methods of study are very flexible involving use of the telephone and internet - sometimes even the exams can be taken online! Further information can be obtained from the website, by telephoning the university and asking for the Centre for Lifelong Learning or by emailing key@abdn.ac.uk.

Robert Gordon University also offers many courses via its 'virtual campus'. These internet delivered courses allow you to study from your own home at times to suit you. Check their website for the list of courses currently available via this delivery method. You do require broadband internet access for this mode of study.

If you are interested in a wide variety of academic subjects and want to stretch your mind without the pain of examinations and essays, the University of Aberdeen's Open Lecture Programme may be of interest to you. For a yearly fee of £80 this programme offers the option of attending a wide variety of subject lectures alongside full time undergraduates. Under this programme you are not entitled to attend tutorials or have essays marked, but it may provide you with an idea of subjects which might interest you for further study or may stimulate some new areas of interest for you. For an additional fee of £15 per year you can obtain full University Library borrowing rights so that you will also be able to borrow books on the subjects covered by the lectures. For an application form and course programme contact the Centre for Life Long Learning on 01224 - 273528 or check www.abdn.ac.uk/lifelonglearning.

The UK also has an Open University, www.open.ac.uk, offering a wide variety of courses which can be taken individually, or as modules leading to full degree or diploma qualifications. Contact 0870 - 333 4340 for general enquiries, or 0131 - 226 3851 for The Open University in Scotland.

8.3              Studying non-vocational courses

There is a wide range of non-vocational courses (i.e. not leading to formal qualifications at diploma or degree level) offered in partnership between Aberdeen College and Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire Council. These are held at locations in the Community all over the City centre, in the suburbs (such as Cults and Westhill) and further afield (such as Stonehaven and Banchory). To find out information on courses currently available in your area call 01224 - 497150 or contact Aberdeen College on 01224 - 612330. You can also contact your local community education centre (see contact numbers below). The Press and Journal newspaper carries a four-page pull-out in August listing all the courses available and the dates for registration. Courses are extremely wide ranging but cover arts (including crafts, painting, drawing and pottery), exercise and sport (including swimming, keep fit, badminton, indoor bowls, yoga and line dancing to highlight a few), languages (French, Spanish Italian at a variety of levels and English as a foreign language), computing (from complete beginners to desk top publishing and including at some centres the European Computer Driving Licence), and many other courses.

Some courses run in the evening and others during the day and usually for no more than 2 hours at a session. Typical costs would be around £50 for block of 10 sessions. Some centres also offer shorter courses i.e. at Christmas time there are often 2 or 3 session courses for making Christmas decorations or Christmas food. Some daytime centres do offer creche facilities: you should check at the time of booking and book creche facilities well in advance if they are available.

Some of the most popular Community Education Centres are: