in film and television, and cost £250- £600 for 22 weeks. ■ Edinburgh University, see Languages, Edinburgh. CEC, see Dance, Edinburgh. Stevenson and Jewel & Esk Colleges, see Arts and Crafts, Edinburgh. Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street, 248 4848, www.lyceum.org.uk. Playwrights’ Studio, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 332 4403, www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Glasgow Professional development these days usually involves enhancing computer skills – this is recognised by Strathclyde University, as evidenced by its courses in specific software, such as Flash and Sketch-Up, which are available for £41, as well as a more general web-design course for £104. North Glasgow College also has a number of computer-related courses, including computer aided design and guides to various SAGE programmes; accountancy, bookkeeping, and business certificates; and more general courses in leadership and management development, personal organisation and public-speaking skills. Certificated
For more information on courses visit www.list.co.uk
well as a Practical Maths course that dispenses with all the Pythagorean nonsense and concentrates on the everyday application of numbers. ■ Edinburgh University, see Languages, Edinburgh. CEC, see Dance, Edinburgh.
CULTURE Glasgow
There are a great number of cultural studies to follow at Glasgow University, including creative writing, pop music studies, short filmmaking and film criticism; all courses are either £214 or £428, depending on length. Strathclyde University has an extremely comprehensive cultural programme: its various creative writing courses are supported by the Blaze classes, tutorials and discussions designed to be followed online; its partnership with the Glasgow Film Theatre has resulted in a strong range of cinema and filmmaking courses; and having the Ramshorn Theatre attached provides an ideal environment for studying the dramatic arts, be it on stage or behind the scenes. Fees start at £16 for one-day sessions to £260 for a full term. The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama has a thorough theatrical programme, with voice coaching, acting styles and auditioning processes covered from £80 to £195. It even has a series of intensive learning weekends, each dedicated to a different area of stagecraft – these are £65 each, with a 20% discount available when all five are booked together. There’s also the opportunity to get involved with public theatre group Mischief La Bas – a £75 fee gets you rehearsal time with the group and the chance to participate in some
street theatre. ■ Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities, see Arts and Crafts, Glasgow. RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 4101, www.rsamd.ac.uk.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh University has a fair selection of cultural studies on offer, from £30 for short courses to £160 for several weeks’ study. There’s creative writing in the form of fiction, poetry, journalism or scriptwriting; film and media courses including foreign film studies and film journalism; and also music, covering mainly the theoretical side: reading and notation of sheet music, the history of certain musicians and genres, and so on.
For actual music tuition, the two best bets are CEC (with lessons from £30- £60 on samba drumming, bagpipes and guitar, among others) and Jewel & Esk College, which runs its music classes alongside sound design and production courses (which also sit neatly beside the college’s numerous filmmaking and radio production classes) for £78-£99. Stevenson College also runs classes for the technical side of things, with in-depth digital editing, post-production and sound engineering courses available for £200-£250.
For those of a more theatrical bent, the Lyceum Theatre runs a number of theatre discussion groups for £5, and acting classes have been known to pop up from time to time – contact the theatre directly for more info. Finally, The Playwrights’ Studio is branching out from its CCA base in Glasgow to run screenwriting and feature film courses in Edinburgh and Dumfries and Galloway, as part of their Writer’s Factory scheme. The courses are taught by professional writers working
18 THE LIST 9–23 Sep 2010
courses are available for £330-£500, while software and general office skills courses cost £130-£245. ■ Strathclyde University and North Glasgow College, see Arts and Crafts, Glasgow.
Edinburgh Software tuition is available at various venues throughout Edinburgh: Telford College offers specialised classes in the AutoCAD programme from £45 and Microsoft certification from £140, while CEC has courses in Excel, PowerPoint and Dreamweaver for £36-£66, and internet business courses for £300. Jewel & Esk College offers less software-orientated classes, such as shorthand and audio-typing (£99) and minute-taking (£45). ■ Telford and Jewel & Esk Colleges, see Arts and Crafts, Edinburgh. CEC, see Dance, Edinburgh.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Glasgow There are also plenty of courses to deal with health, happiness and wellbeing. Glasgow University runs a class examining the therapeutic properties of art; a full course costs £443. A general overview into holistic therapies is available at Cardonald College, with a specific course of aromatherapy and related ventures into health and beauty topics all available for £87. Finally, yoga tuition is available at the Metta College of Traditional Thai Yoga Massage – introductory sessions cost £60, while the first part of an intensive advanced diploma programme for £465 could lead onto you becoming a yoga practitioner yourself. ■ Glasgow University, see Arts and Crafts, Glasgow. Cardonald College, see Dance, Glasgow. Metta, 17 Cranworth Street, 339 3709 / 07956911159, www.yogamassage.co.uk.
Edinburgh An industry becoming more popular in recent years is life coaching, which is all about helping people to realise their full potential in all parts of their life. Courses to become a life coach are available at Edinburgh University, for £100. Queen Margaret University has in-depth courses in art and dance movement therapies, available for £700-£735 for 20 weeks. Jewel & Esk College concentrates on more cosmetic treatments, with various massage styles, aromatherapy, reflexology and beauty techniques being taught from £99-£230. ■ Edinburgh University, see Languages, Edinburgh. Jewel & Esk College, see Arts and Crafts, Edinburgh. Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh, 474 0000, www.qmu.ac.uk.