Luke is enthusiastic, tenacious and kind. He also understands why young people fail to learn and…read moreparticularly why they have not managed to engage in the learning process, or achieve their potential. Because of this, and the style of teaching, young people are likely to engage and make progress.

Very good! Our boys love it. To make the two of them work together takes a master, but their tutor…read morecan manage it. It's a pity we did not know about Genie Tutors earlier.

Did you know that the Botanical Gardens offer courses on everything from portrait photography to…read moregrowing plants (kind of an obvious one that I guess) to yoga? I always presumed this space was used for school groups but I was lucky enough to attend classes here recently - it's a tranquil setting with views of the lovely gardens and the ideal place to loll around on a gym mat (I did yoga in case you're wondering). You can approach the building directly from Westbourne Road (it's a little bit hidden away so look out for the signs) or through the Gardens during later summer opening hours. There's limited parking available at the Study Centre so you may prefer to use the main Gardens' car park. It boasts a number of rooms - they all seem pretty light and airy and they're often decorated with collages made by visiting kids. Looking at their website it would appear that their Summer courses are on hold, which seems a real shame given how much I enjoyed attending classes here and especially in light of the closure of the nearby Adult Education Centre (The Clocktower in Harborne High Street) - with this in mind, its worth phoning ahead to make sure whatever it is you fancied lending your hand to, is still running.

Common Purpose is a charity that runs leadership courses. The objective is for people to have…read morebetter leadership skills whether for work or just for themselves. One of the main areas of interest is for people to have civic and social responsibility with the long term aim that all of the public benefit. They even have courses for young people aged 18-25 that enable them to have better leadership skills resulting in better job offers. 'Young Million' is run through donations of money and donations of time and this is the area I'm looking to potentially get involved. I thoroughly recommend having a look at Common Purpose whether you are young and unemployed, a professional looking to sharpen your leadership qualities or a professional looking to donate time. Oh and ask for the amazing Louise Teboul in Birmingham.