A Ukrainian music teacher learning English and a mother training to be a teaching assistant were among the winners. Most council courses are free to Londoners.

Five adult learners and three young people have been honoured at Wandsworth Council’s Learner of the Year Awards. The winners were nominated by their own tutors, the council announced on Friday.

The ceremony was held at Burridge Gardens Community Centre in Clapham Junction. Cllr Lynsey Hedges, the council’s Cabinet Member for Opportunity, presented the awards with Beverley Corson, chief executive of Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce.

The winners

The council named these adult learners:

  • Tetiana Tanska arrived from Ukraine three years ago unable to speak English. She goes to classes twice a week and wants to teach music again, the job she did for 20 years in Ukraine.
  • Hani Mohamed took ESOL classes so she could help her children with school and talk to their teachers. She now hopes to become a teaching assistant.
  • Vanesca Bellum gained the confidence from an English course to look at new careers.
  • Gloria Dei completed a Level 3 course in Information, Advice and Guidance to strengthen the help she gives in her community.
  • Kamron Williams built his professional skills on courses run with St George’s.

Isla, George and Bashar, from the council’s Trailblazer programme for young people, were also recognised.

“It’s never too late to learn, age is just a number,” Hani Mohamed said.

Cllr Hedges said she was “really moved by their inspiring stories”. She said lifelong learning gives people “opportunities to develop new skills and confidence to get on in life and work”.

How big the service is

About 2,500 adults enrol with Wandsworth Lifelong Learning each year, across more than 650 courses, the council says. Subjects include:

  • English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)
  • English and maths, including Functional Skills
  • skills for work, professional development and apprenticeships
  • digital skills
  • health and wellbeing

What it means for you

Most courses are free. Wandsworth Lifelong Learning says a course costs nothing if you meet all of these conditions:

  • you live in a London borough
  • you are not in full-time education
  • you have not already got the qualification
  • you were 19 or older on 31 August 2026
  • you have permission to live in the UK for at least 12 months from the first day of the course

There is a paid option on some advanced accredited courses for people who do not qualify. If you live outside London, the service says funding is sometimes available: email edlifelong@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk to check.

Signing up has three steps: a registration, an enrolment form and a short chat with an adviser to check the course suits you.

One course that fits the awards’ story is still open. Your First Step to Becoming a Teaching Assistant runs online over three weekly two-hour sessions from 1pm on Monday 16 November. It covers where to find vacancies, how to get school experience and how to prepare for interviews. Registration closes on Tuesday 10 November.

Where a course shows no dates, you can register your interest and the service will contact you when the next one is scheduled. The full course list is here.

South Thames College in Tooting runs its own adult courses too: see our round-up of what it offers this term.

Sources