BARNET College has been given £80,000 by the Government to help encourage adult learning in the community.

The "learning for pleasure" programme, spearheaded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS), funds the teaching of disadvantated communities through creative and cultural activities.

Barnet College was one of 213 successful recipients of the grant, chosen from a field of 1,400 applicants.

Barnet Council, Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute of Education, The Jewish Association for the Mentally Ill and Barnet Voluntary Service Council will all help to run the scheme.

They will provide a range of activities, from food street festivals to writers workshops, to encourage learning in the community.

Susanne Stent, Barnet College director of adult learning and skills for life, said: “We are very excited to launch this project, which will have a huge impact for adults in the Barnet borough.

"This project will focus on those in the community who find formal learning inaccessible; for example, young adults, mental health service users, older people and the long-term unemployed.

"We hope this will create opportunities and instill a sense of pride among local residents.”

The grant comes from the £20million "Transformation Fund" launched by the Government to offer funding for innovative, informal adult learning projects in England.

Kevin Brennan, minister for further education, skills and consumer affairs, said: “The benefits of learning for pleasure in an informal setting are wide-ranging, and they benefit the community as well as the individual.

"I hope that many people will develop the confidence and the local connections to take a big step towards a brighter future.”

To find out more about Transformation Fund grants, visit www.transformationfund.org.uk/about-transformation-fund.