I have had a horrific experience here. Became a target of hate on both the Podcasting course (Kanas Wong) & Digital Photography course (Mark Holloway). Both tutors made vulgar remarks in every sentence. Kanas included a case study & a presentation with implied nasty remarks. Some students were also instructed to make nasty remarks of 5 weeks! I have made 2 complaints both have been ignored! Neither tutor taught the course properly & Mark Holloway made sure I didn't receive the learning like the rest of the students! I had my enquiry about courses ignored. The marketing manager also made inappropriate digs. Management know the game they have been playing. I have been a target of hate crime by University of Birmingham, Birmingham MPs,, Conservative & Labour government, corrupt police. read more

The Brasshouse Language Centre is the largest Adult Education Centre in the UK specialising in language courses and language services. Their staff are from all over the world, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Centre, creating a truly international atmosphere. I came here wanting to learn post GCSE French Language. I was reluctant at first to pick up a language after learning French at school 16 years ago. I was surprised that the registration process was very simplistic and cogent. The fees were also subsidised for concessions. This was helpful for me because I was not employed at that time and wanted to broaden my horizons without breaking my non-exist budget. The teacher I had was very helpful and supportive, she set us regular homework and pointed the class in the right direction for text books and related literature. The class really improved my French and I am looking forward to joining the class at the next level. read more

I decided to enroll myself on a Basic Italian course, having just been to Italy, and having discovered that Italian appears to be the easiest language in the world to just pick up. So properly studying it here was very different - although in many ways better, as someone was actually telling me useful things rather then me just making it up. The teacher Alicia was really lovely - very encouraging and didn't make you feel like an idiot if you got something wrong. There was just the right balance between formality and informality, so you felt relaxed and able to make mistakes without the teaching being sloppy. The homework was always just the right amount of work and really good for keeping you on your toes. The actual lessons were way more interesting than I remembered modern language lessons being at school - and tended to be tailored to more relevant vocabulary and linguistic knowledge. I'm pretty sure everyone in my group passed - which is credit to the teaching I guess! I would definitely recommend this place for language courses -they do lots of different levels and course-lengths too. read more

I've been coming to the Brasshouse for a few months now for Japanese lessons. It's really a fantastic council offer- subsidised adult education lessons in pretty much any subject or skill. I think the Brasshouse is mostly the location for language courses, and is just off Broad Street. There's a car park opposite, but it's usually nightmarishly full, so aim for street parking if you're feeling lucky. (If you're feeling flush however, you can park in the Brindley Place NCP) When I first signed up, it was easy to find out where to go/what to do as there are helpful reception staff and a board in the foyer which gives directions to sign up and also posts class locations every day- particularly useful as our classroom seems to change location every week! The building itself is tired and old- a fairly typical council building I suspect, and as I mentioned, classrooms do get change on a regular basis. However if you check the board on entrance you'll be fine. I kind of want to give the Brasshouse 3.5 stars for the building and random room movement, but the lessons are really good, and great value, so I can cope with it! read more

The worst language learning course I've ever known - leaving me without any confidence that I would ever be able to learn Swedish. The course was conducted by a Swedish girl, who was not even an accredited teacher at all. The quality of the audio tapes she used was extremely poor and I couldn't understand what was being said - even after several playings of the cassette The Swedish girl was totally unable to explain things which I didn't understand - constantly saying there wasn't time - and such explanations which were offered were often contradictory. I would say that if intensive courses are going to be offered, then 1) Experienced and properly qualified teachers should run them and 2) Teaching material should be fit for purpose. read more