3:13pm Thursday 7th February 2008
By Nigel Kerton
THREE generations of one family are attending maths and English refresher courses at Pewsey's PACT centre.
The courses held every Monday are currently under subscribed and could do with a few more people attending, said centre manager Dawn Miller.
The Britten family is doing its best to make up numbers with three generations taking part, although there were four generations of the family at the centre on Monday.
Ivy Britten, 71, went along as usual with her daughters Helen Martin, 47, also from Pewsey, and Julie Adger, 38, from Amesbury.
Granddaughter Marci Bloomfield, 21, is the third generation of the regular attendees.
However on Monday Ms Bloomfield took along her two-year-old daughter, Alexcia Martin-Bloomfield, for the morning session.
While the adults got down to some serious learning, Alecia played with some of the learning aids.
The literacy and numeracy courses, explained Mrs Miller, are for grown ups that want to keep up with modern teaching methods or just to keep up with their kids.
Mrs Britten said: "My little grand-daughter comes and stops with me weekends and holidays.
"The way they do their maths at school is different and I wanted to keep abreast of her so that I can help her with her homework."
Mrs Martin, who works as a behavioural support worker with special needs adults, said: "I was doing a computer studies course when I heard about this maths course.
"I like numbers and I wouldn't mind going into book keeping and into SAGE (business software) later on so I need to get up to speed with my maths."
Ms Bloomfield said she needed to brush up her literacy before becoming a teacher at IT classes at the PACT centre later in the year.
She is the assistant manager at the centre and in April starts training to become an IT teacher.
Mrs Britten was the first to enrol on the classes and said she welcomed the opportunity not only of learning but doing so surrounded by members of her family.
Mrs Miller said the courses could do with a few more members and operate on a roll on, roll off basis so new students can enrol at any time.
The PACT centre gets a lot of requests from the area's immigrant workers for an English literacy course but it needs a specialist teacher.
She would like to hear from anyone with a City and Guilds ESOL qualification who could teach a few hours each week at the centre. If you can help ring her on (01672) 562000.
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