A STATE-of-the-art learning centre in Burnley has been given more than £300,000 funding to run adult learning courses.

The City Learning Centre, based at Towneley County High School, will open three evenings a week for a variety of courses, including French and Spanish for beginners, salsa dancing, calligraphy, computing and Indian head massage, from September 15, thanks to the new funding.

This follows a successful pilot programme of courses that ran throughout the summer holidays, which were nearly all full to capacity.

The City Learning Centre and Lancashire County Council Adult and Continuing Education Service have worked in partnership to put the programme together and open the centre out to more members of the community.

Chris Puckett, business networking director at the City Learning Centre, said: "There will be something on offer for everyone. We trialled the adult learning courses through the summer and they were full and some of those people have already signed up to the new programme.

"We had lots of people who hadn't dipped their toe into education for a long time, and lots of couples who decided this was something they could do together, rather than sit in front of TV. It was really lovely to see so many people trying something new."

Chris praised Burnley Council and Lancashire County Council for the support the centre received to put the bid for European funding together.

She said: "Without their help we would not have this money. We are educators, so with this bid we needed a lot of hand-holding and the work both authorities put in has been brilliant."

The City Learning Centre opened in April this year and was built under the Government's Excellence in the Cities scheme, with funding from its Single Regeneration Budget and from Lancashire County Council.

It is owned by five secondary and 10 primary schools in Pendle and Rossendale, but was also designed to be used by the whole community. It contains computer suites, a multi-purpose space and conference facilities, among other things, and by Christmas it will also have a recording studio and music composition suite.

Lancashire County Council Adult and Continuing Education Service also runs courses, from modern languages and computing to holistic therapies and watercolour painting, in other venues throughout Burnley and Pendle, including Burnley Library, Coal Clough Library, Gawthorpe Hall and Belmont Community Centre in Burnley, and Briercliffe Youth and Community Centre, Colne Library and Barnoldswick Library in Pendle.

For more information about courses at the City Learning Centre and other venues, or to find out how to enrol telephone the Adult and Continuing Education Service on 01282 417720.