Adult options

We know that people want to study for variety of reasons; maybe you want to gain a qualification for work, maybe you want to retrain entirely, or maybe you want to take a leisure course and enjoy a new hobby. You probably feel more enthusiastic and committed to studying than when you were younger as well, but whatever your motivation, coming to College will definitely be a great way of meeting new people, improving your career prospects and developing new interests.

We have a learning environment that is adult friendly, and all of our part-time and professional course tutors have experience in working with mature learners. We understand your needs and provide excellent resources to facilitate a great study experience. Bedford College is friendly, diverse learning community; more than 48% of our students are aged 25 or over, and 16% of the student population are over 45.

Professional qualifications

We provide a number of different qualifications and courses to suit all levels of ability and to fit in with the work and family commitments of most mature students. If you want to progress your career, we can offer you the opportunity to achieve a recognised qualification from professional industry bodies. To search for professional qualifications that might interest you, please use our course finder.

Leisure classes

Learning doesn’t have to be about formal qualifications – you may prefer instead to consider one of our leisure courses, which are perfect if you want to stimulate your creativity and expand your knowledge without any of the pressure of formal exams. With a leisure course what you get out of it is up to you – so if you have some free time and do not know what to do with it, or just fancy trying a new skill, take a look at our course finder for more information about our current part-time leisure courses.