Last few places remaining! Learning Institute & Rivers Academy team up to offer free life-changing foundation degrees. Find out more here

We all know life can get in the way of achieving academic goals and ambitions. But it is never too late to learn.

If you regret failing to reach the destination you set for yourself on your learning journey, help is now available to boost your qualifications for free by studying for a foundation degree.

The Learning Institute has partnered with Rivers Academy West London to offer 15 free places on a range of foundation degree courses to adults living in Feltham.

These places are government-funded, flexible and designed to fit in alongside work, family and life. They can help open doors to a better paying job and provide the opportunity to upskill.

Successful applicants will study for their foundation degree – which is accredited by the University of Worcester – during weekly sessions. These will be a combination of live online learning and face-to-face sessions in local venues, including Rivers Academy West London.

Foundation degrees are available in the following subjects:

• Early Years Professional
• Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Young People
• Inclusive Education
• Learning and Education.

To find out more about this life-changing opportunity,  Email lhomer@rivers-aspirations.org to reserve a place or find out more.

Luke Homer, Vice Principal at Rivers Academy, told the Hounslow Herald: ‘‘Life can get in the way of achieving academic goals and ambitions. Other milestones such as getting married or having children can become more important. Foundation degrees allow adults to get back into education.

‘‘It is the first time such an opportunity has become available to adults living in Feltham. Rivers Academy West London considers itself to be at the heart of Feltham’s community and this partnership with the Learning Institute reflects our commitment to this ethos.

‘‘Being able to complete a foundation degree will give residents the chance to better themselves, to flourish and achieve their potential.

‘‘Improving your qualifications improves life chances: a foundation degree can help open the door to a better paying job and allows you to upskill.

‘‘I look forward to welcoming anyone interested in finding out more at the open evening planned on April 27th.’’

A foundation degree takes two years to complete and there is the option of completing a third, top-up year, in order to gain a full Bachelor of Arts qualification.

According to the most recent statistics, adults choosing to pursue qualifications in later life has fallen to a record low with almost four million ‘lost learners’ since 2010 according to new data from the Learning and Work Institute.

The policy, research and development organisation has long campaigned for the government to put lifelong learning ‘at the heart of its domestic agenda’ after just one in three adults took part in learning between 2017 and 2020.

The 2019 survey by the Learning and Work Institute found adult participation has dropped 10 percentage points since 2010 from 43 per cent down to 33 per cent – the lowest figure on record.