A Year in the Garden (Tuesdays) HHR 2025-26

Tuesdays 10.30am - 2.30pm

Rosendale Allotments Community Building, 227 Rosendale Rd, SE21 8LP

STARTS: Tuesday 16th September 2025; ENDS: Tuesday 7th July 2026

One-day-a-week course following the gardening year while teaching the key skills and knowledge you need to become a better gardener, designed to:

• enhance your understanding of the theory of horticulture
• actively increase your plant knowledge
• improve your gardening skills
• keep you one step ahead of your garden if you have one (not needed to join the course).

What to expect:

• small class sizes in friendly, relaxed settings
• detailed and robust horticultural teaching combined with wider discussion including students’ real-life gardening queries throughout the year
• practical sessions and field trips
• seasonal maintenance planning and guidance
• home study tasks to supplement classroom learning
• preparation for our Foundation Certificate qualification

Course dates:

• Tuesday 16th September 2025 - Tuesday 7th July 2026
• three 11/12 week terms
• two 4-week breaks at Christmas and Easter
  
• half-term home study break/assignment each term (2 weeks in autumn term; one week in spring & summer terms)
  

Entry requirements:

There are no formal entry requirements, although it is expected that all students will meet the following criteria:

• adult students only
• sufficient English language (spoken and written) skills to undertake a Certificate-level course, including assessments
• availability to attend weekly classes in term time
• availability and willingness to study independently between classes (background reading, online research, homework assignments and preparation for fortnightly plant identifcation tests: maximum of a few hours per week).

Fees & Payment Arrangements:

• On registering and paying a non-refundable* deposit of £275 your place on the course will be held for you.
• By registering now you will be signing up for the full year and can choose whether to pay termly (three further payments) or to get a discount by paying annually in two further instalments with the last one due in October.
• You will be invoiced directly for the outstanding balance for the course.
  

You will be able to choose one of the following payment options:

Pay by the term (£275 deposit plus £870 per term):

1. £275 deposit*
   
2. £870 balance for Term 1 due no later than 31st August 2025
3. £870 balance for Term 2 due no later than 30th November 2025
4. £870 balance for Term 3 due no later than 31st March 2026

Pay for the full year (£275 deposit plus £2,510**):

1. £275 deposit*
   
2. First instalment of £1,510 due no later than 31st August 2025
3. Second instalment of £1,000 due no later than Friday 10th October 2025

• * Deposit fully refundable if the course is cancelled or does not go ahead as advertised (eg due to Covid). It is non-refundable if the course goes ahead as advertised but the student chooses to cancel, although it may in exceptional circumstances be transferrable to another or later course.
• ** £100 discount for upfront payment for the full year, compared to paying termly