Tatton MP Esther McVey made her first visit to Wilmslow Guild recently to hear first-hand, from principal Paul Riordan, about the breadth of adult education opportunities available within the town and at the Guild’s outreach centres in the wider area.
Wilmslow Guild opened on Bourne Street in 1926 and has been evolving to meet the changing needs of the community ever since – whether that by offering contemporary dance or life coaching alongside a huge range of other courses and one-off lectures.
Esther was particularly interested to hear, in her role as secretary of state for work and pensions, about the course run on all aspects of planning for retirement and the range of wellbeing courses offered on behalf of Cheshire East Council, across the county.
She also visited the Wilmslow Guild’s extensive costume store and saw the costumes used by the Guild Players or hired out to support company funds.
Esther commented: “On the day I visited, there was an enormous variety of activities of offer and I sat in on an art lecture, a bridge group and a needlework class.
“There was also a Tai-Chi class in progress but I didn’t dwell too long there for fear of breaking their concentration!”
Esther added: “The Guild is a brilliant resource to have in Wilmslow and I was fascinated by the broad range of interests catered for, whether as one-off lectures or courses.
“Some of the work being created in the art group highlighted what talented people we have in Wilmslow!”
Paul Riordan said: “Now in its 92nd year Wilmslow Guild continues to provide liberal lifelong learning.
“We are very proud to support our community by offering opportunities to improve participants’ quality of life through learning new skills and promoting social engagement.”
