City Lit, London

City Lit is London’s largest provider of short courses for adults. Founded in 1919, it has provided adult education in central London for over a century. City Lit helps learners from a variety of backgrounds and social circumstances to challenge themselves and unlock their potential. In 2020, City Lit launched its online learning provision to remain a hub of learning and support throughout the pandemic.

City Lit has adapted and innovated to meet London’s changing needs, providing more than just adult education courses – as the offer helps combat loneliness; develop new skills to improve employability; career change retooling for those later in life; give a sense of purpose and fulfilment; improve confidence; overcome mental health difficulties; and make London and beyond a better place.

The college now runs around 5,000 courses online and in person per year and handles nearly 60,000 enrolments.

Universal Skills Centre at City Lit

The Universal Skills Centre focuses on the core competencies and skills needed by adults to participate, progress and express themselves in today’s democracies.

We focus on the most in-demand skills inside and outside the workplace such as communication, decision-making, prioritising, innovating and team-building, and students learn and develop these through working on their English, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), maths, digital skills and data literacy. We run courses for over 1500 Hearing and Deaf learners, at all levels, with and without exams. Our pedagogical focus is on task-based learning and the gamification of the classroom.