Drawing Courses in London
At City Lit, we have a variety of drawing courses, delivered in our bright, modern studios for students to create and develop a body of drawing work. Supported by our team of experienced and expert tutors, we offer students both a practical guide and an informative insight, providing an opportunity for all levels to explore traditional and contemporary styles of drawing.
We have classes for everyone, whether you’re a complete beginner and you want an introduction to drawing; or you’re at an intermediate or higher level and you want classes that focus on developing advanced drawing skills such as mark making techniques, experimental approaches and use of colour, tone and shade within these disciplines.
Our courses are specially designed to offer you support in overcoming any frustrations, learning new skills and helping you achieve your personal creative goals.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
To arrange a conversation with our drawing coordinator about your interests, options and courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
- How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinemaCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonThis course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Access to HE diploma: humanities and social science (evenings)Course start date: Tue 17 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Applications for the September 2025 start are now open.
This course has 4 free spaces for learners aged 19-23, who meet the residency criteria and who have not previously achieved a full level 3 qualification. We can also offer 3 free spaces for over people over 24 on the Free Courses for Jobs scheme if you meet the criteria. These places are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis to applicants who fully meet the course entry requirements.
If you are not eligible for a free place you can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan from Student Finance England (SFE).
Please click Start Assessment on the course page.
The Access to Higher Education Diploma (Humanities and Social Science) is a qualification designed for anyone who has left school without the usual qualifications (GCSEs or A-levels) and wishes to study at university.
It is a highly intensive, fast-track route to higher education, where you will complete the equivalent of 3 A-Levels in one year, and requires attendance ONLINE via ZOOM two nights per week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays) from 6-9.15pm, as well as online tutorials every two to three weeks (from 5pm) and substantial private study. These dates and times are non-negotiable and you are required to attend every session. There may also be optional study sessions at our Central London Campus on one Saturday each term.
Due to the course's intensity, priority will be given to applications from those who are serious and sure about progressing to degree level study and are ready to take on the intense challenge that the year will bring.
The Free Courses for Jobs initiative is for Londoners aged 24 or over at the start of the course who are: on a low-income; or on certain benefits; or do not have a full level 3 qualification. For more information Click here
The course fee is £3022.00 payable at the time of your enrolment. If you are unable to pay the course fees, you can choose to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan from Student Finance England (SFE) to help cover the course fee. The Advanced Learning Loan is written off on completion of a Higher Education degree course. You can find more information about the Advanced Learner Loan www.citylit.ac.uk/advanced-learner-loans
For more information, please call Access to HE Diploma (Humanities) on 020 8078 0486.Full fee £3,022.00 Senior fee £3,022.00 Concession £3,022.00 - Beyond the headlines: Left populism and socialism todayCourse start date: Wed 17 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Salome IetterThis course will provide an overview of the politics of ‘Left populism’ in their historical perspective and contemporary manifestations as well as in their relation to socialist politics.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Lieder: music and poetryCourse start date: Wed 17 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Katy HamiltonFrom the late-eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, the German Lied developed and blossomed as a musical genre for amateurs, professionals, homes and concert halls. We trace its history through some of its most important composers.
This course has a scheduled break week on 29 Oct 2025. - Exploring British cinemaCourse start date: Wed 17 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyDefining itself around themes such as realism, class and national identity, and differentiating itself from Hollywood and other national cinemas, British cinema has found critical and popular acclaim both domestically and internationally. This course explores key themes and developments in British cinema, past and present, through a range of films, filmmakers and critical concepts and responses.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00 - Develop your writing and language skills (level 1-level 2)Course start date: Thu 8 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Have you been learning English for a long time but your writing just doesn’t seem to be improving? Are you quite a fluent speaker but find formal speaking difficult? Do you feel ‘stuck’. This course will release you! You will focus on how to improve the structure of your writing both the whole text, paragraphs and sentences. You will work on understanding the grammar of the language, and the skills you learn to develop your writing will help you improve your more formal speaking whether this is for job interviews, meetings at work or giving presentations. This course is ideal if you have been living in the UK for several years, feel quite comfortable in speaking English as a second language, but lack confidence in your literacy skills.
You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name).
This course is FREE if you are employed and on a low wage or you are claiming benefits. For more information Click here
Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £65.00 - Singing workshop (contemporary)Course start date: Thu 1 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Colette MeuryContinue your study of singing technique and learn songs in popular music styles of folk, jazz, pop, rock, musical theatre. Live sessions online. Develop your musicianship, and add new songs to your repertoire. New students with experience of singing and some formal training are welcome.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £259.00 Concession £181.00 - Developing your screenwritingCourse start date: Thu 18 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Billy CookContinue your screenwriting journey in this practical intermediate course. Writing exercises, presentations and screenings will teach you key skills, and you’ll begin to produce work and an outline for a full-length project.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £259.00 Concession £130.00 - Spanish DELE B1 tasterCourse start date: Thu 18 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Amaia IbargüenAre you looking into taking an Exam course in Spanish but want to try it before you commit?
Get a taste of what it would be like to prepare for the 'Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera B1'. The course will explain how the actual Preparation to DELE course will work and will offer snippets of activities that will be carried out during the course.
Please note that you should have studied Spanish for about three years or have an equivalent level.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £19.00 - The emergence of Europe 300-1000Course start date: Fri 19 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingExplore reasons for the fall of Rome and the emergence of the ‘barbarian’ kingdoms of western Europe. Was it really ‘the Dark Ages’? Were the Vikings simply long-haired tourists who occasionally beat up the natives?Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Maths for life and work (level 1)Course start date: Fri 19 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
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This course is FREE if you are employed and on a low wage or you are claiming benefits. For more information Click here
Full fee £259.00 - Hitchcock's Horror Thrillers 1: Psycho, scene by sceneCourse start date: Sat 20 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyHitchcock's most successful film, and, arguably, the horror thriller, Psycho (1960) has enthralled audiences and critics ever since its release sixty-five years ago. Through an in-depth, scene by scene analysis of the film, we will explore its structure, one designed to challenge both audiences and the conventions of narrative filmmaking, its critical and cultural impact, and its enduring appeal.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Spanish 3 upper: module 1Course start date: Mon 22 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Amaia IbargüenFurther improve your Spanish in this lively class, taught in Spanish with the emphasis on developing your speaking and listening skills. You will also acquire a greater understanding of Spanish grammar. Suitable if you have completed 'Spanish 3 lower' or equivalent. Based on Aula Internacional 3 Plus, (Difusión Publishers).
Please do not buy the book until after the first session, as if you transfer to another level you might use a different book.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £149.00
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