Weekend and Evening Courses and Workshops for Adults

Selwyn Community Education

Welcome to our affordable and easily accessible evening, weekend and daytime short courses with experienced tutors in a friendly environment.

General Information

About Us

We offer short courses to educate, inspire, up-skill, entertain, and exercise. Our 200+ tutors are experienced, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and friendly. Most have teaching qualifications and many are experts in their fields. Our language teachers are all native speakers.

We schedule more than 700 courses each year and offer a series of evening lectures called ‘Think Talks’ which are held approximately once every four weeks (suggested donation $5). The majority of our courses are run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings but we also have a smaller number of day-time classes, and we run weekend programmes about six times per year. We also run children’s after-school and holiday courses. We look forward to welcoming you to our programme.

Finding The Office

We are located at the front of Selwyn College in the main administration building (203 Kohimarama Road, Kohimarama). Our office is to the left of the red wall. Refer to the Map.

Finding Your Classroom

On the first day or evening of your course, please arrive 10-15 minutes early and come to the foyer of the Community Education Office (at the front of the school). You will be given directions.

Office Personnel

Director: Anne Cave
Office Administrators: Helen Carroll and Amanda Beezley
Night Supervisors: Joanne Luker and Belinda Gwillim

Term Dates 2021

Our office closes for the year at 1pm on Friday 18 December 2020. Click here to see all information about start dates and opening hours. We will reopen (with limited hours) from 11 January 2021. From 15 February 2021, our regular office hours will apply.

Refunds and Transfers

If a class has insufficient enrolments, we will advise you and a full refund will be given or a transfer to another class may be suggested. If you are unable to attend a course and provide at least 5 working days notice before the course starts, we will refund you or transfer you, less a $25 administration charge. Refunds or transfers will not be given for withdrawals within 5 working days of the class start, or once a class has started. This is because we make decisions about whether courses can proceed based on the payments received at that time.

Because of the extra administration required, for English (ESOL) courses, course fees are payable two weeks before the course starts. Course fees are non-refundable and non-transferable after this time.

Changes to Programme

In the case of unforeseen circumstances we reserve the right to change the advertised programme and/or tutor. Every effort will be made to advertise such changes and we always endeavour to be fair.

Emergency Evacuation and First Aid

The continuous ringing of bells signals an emergency. A voice recording over the public address system will remind everyone to evacuate. In an emergency during the day, English students should leave the building by the quickest and safest escape route and assemble at the REAF carpark. In an emergency during the night students should leave the building by the quickest and safest escape route and assemble in front of the Community Education office in the carpark. Please wait for your tutor to check the register before leaving the school grounds so that emergency workers are not searching for you within the building.

A first aid box is available at the Community Education Office. Please ask for assistance from a staff member. We are required to complete a report for any accidents or injuries so please assist us with this.

A defibrillator is positioned in the front reception area of the school under the front window. The Barfoot and Thompson stadium also have a defibrillator.

Adults – Admission to Secondary School Classes

A range of school subjects is available. Please telephone Selwyn College directly on (09) 521 9610 for further details, current availability and conditions.

Cars and Parking

Parking is available in the main carpark on weekends and evenings only, although this can be limited. Some parking spaces are also available at the back of the school (accessed at Gate 2) in evenings and weekends.

We regret there is no parking available for Monday to Friday day-time course participants other than school holidays.

Parking is not permitted in gateways, paths or on grassed areas. Vehicles that block access or are incorrectly parked may be towed away. The carpark is locked from 9.15pm.

Please note that the Barfoot and Thompson Stadium next door is a separate entity to Selwyn College and they may lock their gate earlier in the evening. Most of their carparks are towaway carparks during the day. We strongly advise that you do not park at the Barfoot and Thompson stadium during the day.

Please note that we cannot accept any liability for cars that are locked in or towed.

Disabled Parking

A disabled car park is labelled and available beside the Selwyn Community Education office. Users of the disabled parks must display a permit.

Disability Access

We encourage and make every effort to accommodate learners with disabilities. It is helpful if you can let us know when you enrol if you have any special requirements. For wheelchair access, please contact us prior to enrolment so that suitable arrangements can be made. Occasionally classes are held in upstairs rooms so we may need to rearrange courses to accommodate you or ensure lift access is organised.

Public Transport

Bus – Bus Stops 1030 (east bound) and 7842 (west bound) are directly outside the school. Visit Auckland Transport at at.govt.nz for information on bus routes and timetables.

Train – The closest train stations are Orakei and Glen Innes. It takes approximately 41 minutes to walk from Orakei and 34 minutes from Glen Innes to our office.

Personal Property / Liability

The Selwyn College Board of Trustees will in no way be liable for any loss resulting from any damage to, or the theft of any property belonging to an employee or a student. Accordingly, an employee or student must arrange his or her own personal insurance to cover loss or damage to personal property while it is situated at the college. To minimise the risk of damage, employees and students should ensure that their personal property is secured; preferably in alarmed areas and that vehicles are parked in allocated parking spaces.

No Smoking or Vaping

Under the terms of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 (in force from November 2020), smoking or vaping is not permitted anywhere in school buildings or within the school grounds at any time of day. We respectfully ask for your cooperation with this.

Fees / GST

Fees are generally payable at the time of enrolment and are GST inclusive. Enrolments can only be confirmed once fees are paid. All fees are listed with the course description. Any additional costs are usually indicated in the course description e.g. This course fee includes $30 ingredients. Non-New Zealand residents are welcome to apply, but will not be eligible for government-subsidised course fees.

Regulations / Policies

The Selwyn Community Education Policy Manual is available from the Selwyn College main office. Some funding is provided through the Tertiary Education Commission.

Who can Enrol for Weekend, Daytime or Evening Courses

Evening, weekend and daytime classes: All adults are welcome to enrol. Senior (16+) secondary school students may be accepted into some courses but please contact our office before enrolling. Generally, our evening and weekend classes are created for adult learners. They are therefore not suitable for younger learners. NZ secondary school students will not be eligible for government fee subsidies on applicable courses without explicit permission from the Tertiary Education Commission (for example, English courses, Te Reo courses). Please contact the office for advice.

Children’s After-School and School Holiday courses: Children are welcome to enrol for the age-appropriate after-school and holidays courses offered in our Children’s Course Category.

English for Speakers of Other Languages: Many of these courses are subsidised by the Tertiary Education Commission for NZ Citizens and permanent migrants (Permanent Resident and Resident Visas). Temporary migrants (those holding other classes of visa eg work visa, visitor visa, student visa) are welcome to apply for these courses but will not qualify for course fee subsidies. The higher course fee will apply. Course participants will be asked to provide proof of residency, and if not supplied will be liable for the full fee.

Receipts

When you make a credit card payment online via our website, we will email a receipt immediately to the email address you have provided.
If you pay via internet banking, we’ll record your payment on the next business day and email a receipt at that time.
If you pay for a course at our office, we will provide either a cash receipt or EFTPOS terminal receipt at the counter, followed by an email receipt within a few hours.

If you don’t receive your email receipt, please check your spam folder first. If you still can’t locate a receipt, please telephone the office on 09 5219623 or email us on info@selwyncomed.school.nz as this could indicate that we do not have an accurate email address for you or that we haven’t received your payment.

Enrolment Confirmation

If you have supplied an email address you will receive a reminder for your evening course or weekend workshop at least a couple of days before the start date. If you do not hear from us, please check your spam folder first, then contact us to check. Lists for classes requiring materials will be emailed approximately one week before the class starts.

Late Enrolments

If places are still available in evening courses or weekend workshops, enrolments can be taken before class starts. Some courses are not suitable for late starts due to the curriculum. Waiting lists operate for full classes. You will be contacted if a place becomes available.

Training Incentive Allowance

WINZ (Work and Income NZ) offer a supplementary allowance for beneficiaries to undertake employment related training. You may be eligible to receive help with weekend or evening course fees, materials, stationery, text books, child care and travel costs. For further information contact WINZ on Telephone: 0800 559 009.