A community adult learning centre is opening in Darlington today.

On Course at Eastbourne is aimed at promoting easy access learning in a variety of skills, tailored to the needs of the community.

The centre, at the Fairway, is a partnership between Eastbourne Comprehensive School and Darlington College of Technology, with staff from the school and college offering advice and support.

A variety of courses are available, to help people develop the skills they want to acquire to improve their career prospects or provide inspiration in their home life.

Subjects include Christmas cookery, local history and hair and nails, and a variety of computer courses, from learning the basics to sessions aimed at business technology and using the Internet.

Richard Appleton, headteacher at Eastbourne School, said: "This is the result of years of planning and preparation to make learning and computer facilities easily accessible to adults in our local community."

Sarah Farley, principal of Darlington College of Technology, said: "This partnership is delivering a range of courses to people in the local community in a relaxed and informal environment.

"The school has excellent resources and I would encourage local people to drop into the learning centre to see what is on offer."

Lorna Pollard, open learning manager at the centre, said that the range of courses available would expand in the future as those running it discovered what courses people wanted.

"We want to deliver a first class service and work with employers to develop skills for employment and extend the range of learning opportunities to support the catchment area," she said.

"We have excellent facilities and there is a hundred and one different things we would like to offer - shaped around what people want to learn."

Members of the public can tour the centre, to see the facilities and range of courses which are available, at an open day today, between 4pm and 8pm.

The learning centre will be open for courses between 3pm and 7pm on weekdays, and from 9am to 11am on Saturdays.

For details call Eastbourne School on (01325) 254677