Something for every curious mind this summer with Frome Community Education

Courses are now available to book for Frome Community Education’s summer term, beginning 20th April. 

Alongside a rich arts & crafts programme, this term sees an outstanding range of new classes in words & languages, literature, history & culture, and health & wellbeing – with prices starting from just £21.

Whether you want to write, discover, discuss or simply think more deeply, there really is something here for everyone says FCE.

For those with a literary ambition, tutor Harriet Derioz is nothing short of prolific this term. Her new 10-week Wednesday morning course, “Telling Stories: Writing an Engaging Short Story,” will take you through every element of the writer’s craft – plot, structure, character and dialogue – one week at a time. At the end of the ten weeks you will have planned, drafted, edited and polished a short story until it shines.

If you would prefer a more open format, Harriet also leads a brand-new Monday afternoon “Writers’ Circle”, a structured weekly session of writing, sharing and feedback. And on five Monday mornings from 1st June, she guides a reading group through Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” exploring the language and themes that make it as powerful today as it was in 1937.

If your storytelling instincts run more towards the stage than the page, why not try Esther Hudson’s new Wednesday evening course, “Introduction To Playwriting”? Over five weeks from 22nd April, you will read and discuss a range of scripts, use drama and creative writing exercises to develop your own characters and scenes, and share your work in a supportive environment. At the end of the course, there is even the option to read or perform your play in front of an invited audience.

History enthusiasts are equally well served. Author and historian David Lassman returns with not one but two new Tuesday courses: “Jane Austen And Bath” – a 5-week exploration of Austen’s years as a Bath resident and the myths that have grown up around them – and “That Was The Year”, a 10-week journey through history in which a different year is examined each session.

David, a former director of the International Jane Austen Festival in Bath, also leads a set of one-day Saturday courses throughout the term, covering subjects as varied as Frome’s Pre-Raphaelite connections, Paranormal Frome and Frome and the Monmouth Rebellion.

If you are wondering what artificial intelligence actually means for your life – beyond the headlines – Roz Sunley’s new Wednesday evening course “AI Update: Where Are We Now?” is well worth considering. Running for five weeks from 22nd April, it is aimed at the curious rather than the technical, and no computing experience is required whatsoever.

Also new this term: Mark Penston’s thought-provoking 3-week “Retirement Challenge — Rewiring Your Future” on Tuesday mornings and evenings from 2nd June; Sara Gibbons’s friendly “Holiday French” and “Holiday Spanish” courses for those who want to leave their phrasebook at home; and Elaine Marie Ewens’s “Vedic Chant Circle”, now with a new Zoom option for those who cannot always attend in person.

To book any of these courses, visit www.fromecommed.org.uk
or pop in to the Box Office at the Cheese & Grain. The Summer term runs from 20th April to 5th July.