A Runcorn cleaner has brushed up on her English with a FREE course from Halton Borough Council and gained a new found love of all things literary, currently reading A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.

Sarah Gardner, aged 35 , from Runcorn has worked as a cleaner for nearly five years. One day, she was talking to her friend who was telling her about College.

She told her friend that she wished she could do something like that but she couldn’t. Her friend asked why.

Sarah explained that ever since she was young, she’d struggled with her reading and writing and was even called “stupid” by some; so she didn’t think that she was capable of learning.

With the support of her friend and her partner, Sarah plucked up the courage to ring Halton Borough Council Adult Learning to see whether they could help.

Sarah came along to the Acorn Learning Centre and had a maths and English assessment and then joined a class. While Sarah was at the class, she was given an assessment which revealed that Sarah has Dyslexia.

Sarah now gets the support in class that she needs and is loving coming to class and learning new things – she’s currently reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – this is something that – before joining the class – she never thought she would be able to do.

Sarah said “Finding out I am dyslexic is the reason I struggled so much when I was younger. I am now l slowly putting the past behind me and I am looking forward to the future. If there is anyone out there who is frightened or worried about learning – don’t be!

“The staff and tutors at Halton Adult Learning will look after you. Joining this course has given me confidence that I didn’t think I had and as well as that I have made lots of new friends”

Halon Borough Council’s Executive Board Member for Employment, Learning and Skills, Cllr Eddie Jones, said: “Congratulations and well done to Sarah for her determination to take advantage from and thus benefit from the Council’s offer.

“At Halton we are constantly seeking to make our courses more accessible and as meaningful as possible to our residents.

“So please check out our adult learning web page, review the prospectus or attend one of the enrolment days. The variety of courses available may provide something of interest or value to you.”

Tuesday 11 December and Wednesday 2 January at Acorn Learning Centre, Runcorn, 10.30am – 5.30pm
Thursday 13 December and Thursday 3 January at Kingsway Learning Centre, Widnes, 10.30am – 5.30pm

You can check out their Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/halton.adult.learning