Courses - Online & in London

For those with previous experience who want to work towards their own goals, or for beginners who want to learn hand-building and throwing processes. We'll also cover glazing and surface decoration.

Have you ever fancied having a go at sculpting in wood? Or perhaps you are experienced at it but would like expert guidance to develop your ideas? This comprehensive course encourages wood carvers of all levels to bring along their ideas and see how they can be developed. You will be taught how to make models of your designs, upscale and transpose these, and use professional carving tools to produce beautiful pieces in wood.

If you are nervous of singing in public, scared to open your mouth or just want to know how your voice works, this course is for you. Classes are fun and cover a wide range of musical styles, so there is something for everyone. Break weeks 6 & 27 May 2024.

Whether you’re a beginner or have some experience, this choral class will give you something to look forward to on a Monday. We sing many genres from musical theatre to pop plus more traditional pieces. This course is very popular, so booking early is essential. Break weeks: 6 & 27 May 2024.

Explore Mozart’s operas from Bastien und Bastienne (1768) to Idomeneo, re di Creta (1780-81). Discover the stories and the music of these youthful works and learn about Mozart’s early biography. Break week: 28 Oct 2024.

Explore French art music from Berlioz to Boulez including familiar names like Debussy and Ravel and then explore modernist movements in France. NB: break week 29 October 2024.

This course is a chance to develop personal artwork, using traditional printmaking methods with a contemporary approach. Experiment and embrace the possibilities within combined layers and surface textures. Processes covered include monotype, screen-printing and etching/intaglio. All levels of experience welcome.

Trace the development of keyboard instruments and their repertoire from Bach’s Goldberg Variations to the late works of Brahms. Explore the composers and makers who shaped the keyboard into one of the most versatile and popular instruments of all time, and learn about history, style, genre and function through guided listening and score reading. Break week: 31 October 2024.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

The 1950s was the beginning of the end for the Hollywood studio era, a golden age in place since the 1920s. The fifties are more difficult to pin down than the 1930/40s due to explosive diversity in both subject matter and cinematic technology, the profound influence of WWII, the development of European neorealism and the first signs of the French New Wave. An emphasis on teen culture emerged, represented by the brief career of James Dean. Film stars became anti-heroes. The moguls who founded Hollywood began to disappear. The studio business model was doomed. Hollywood reacted both defensively and creatively, going for broke—and producing some of the finest and most enduring films in its history, films that transformed the culture, from Sunset Blvd. (1950) to Some Like It Hot (1959)—both by Billy Wilder. From The Asphalt Jungle (1950) to The Misfits (1961)— Marilyn Monroe’s first and final films, both directed by John Huston. From Here To Eternity (1953 Fred Zinnemann) to A Place in the Sun (1951 George Stevens, part of his American trilogy). Fifties’ films reflected a darkening America. (See related courses on Fifties Musicals, Melodrama and Film Noir).