SST beginners courses are delivered to you by pdf download immediately after purchase so you can start these straight away. C&G online certificated courses will usually be ready to start within a few days – once your payment has been processed and course materials will be forwarded to you via email.

If you choose to pay by cheque or take the postal option then this takes a little longer – usually around a 10 day extension to allow for clearance. You can start your course at any time – there are no terms or enrolment dates. When studying by the postal method we will send out to you within 14 days (UK).

The Level 3 and Diploma C&G courses have an initial registration which lasts for 3 years which can be renewed(2.5 years is the average time taken to complete) up until a maximum 5 year ‘life’, so that work remains current.

Level 2 has a maximum 3 year completion time. Other courses vary – relevant information can be found on the individual course details.

No – there is no reason for you to ever visit the school to obtain your qualification.

Yes - every student who completes their course gets a course certificate, issued by the relevant awarding body such as City & Guilds of London, or in the case of Beginners or Masters Courses, a School of Stitched Textiles Certificate.

We produce all our own course materials and also train our assessors in-house in teaching at a distance, so we know you get the best possible service. If you’d like to look at a sample of our course materials, please do contact us and we’ll be happy to let you have an excerpt.

Yes - tutors are very happy that they should be contacted if you need help with your course. Obviously, there are times when they will be teaching elsewhere or on holiday, but in general we aim to return feedback in around a week. You will be given details of tutorial support to fit in with your chosen method of study.

Certainly, if you so wish. There are lots of exciting careers such as teaching in further and adult education, designing, authoring of books/courses, working to commission, or work in theatre, film or TV, depending on the level and subject you’re studying.

If you’d like further details on prospects for particular qualifications please contact us and we’ll let you have further details.

No - you are not obligated to continue with your course or paying the course fees if you decide you don’t wish to continue after your initial order of modules. We know that some students prefer to pay in full, as they find it motivates them to finish, and in this case you are obligated to pay in advance because of the substantial price differential and with the payment being a lump sum. However you can also choose to pay for smaller numbers of modules to spread the cost.

You receive your course materials via email or internet download and send digital photos of your work back to us via an online 'dropbox' service. This allows large files to be sent online, instead of having printed modules delivered and sending work to us via post.

It means that you save on postage, your work is instantly delivered to us and the environment benefits from less traffic pollution. A win, win situation we hope – but not for everybody, which is why we still offer the traditional means as well.

For beginner courses, you can upload the six individual pictures required directly to SST without using the 'dropbox' service.

There are substantial extra costs associated with traditional postal methods of study, both for SST and for students. Modules have to be printed and dispatched, whilst parcels sent in to us have to be acknowledged, unwrapped, sorted through, re-dispatched and paperwork completed. Students have to bear the cost of postage and insurance in both directions and also wait longer for assessment as their work travels back and forth. There is also the potential for things to go missing or get damaged. We estimate postage costs over the lifetime of a course could amount to around £300.00 in the UK. There is also the end exhibition to consider, when postal work has to travel back to us one last time to be displayed here at the school - which can be expensive in postal charges. Online students have their work displayed online, so this is not a consideration for them.

Online course students do have some extra expense at home if they wish to print off modules etc, but this is more than compensated for by not having to pay postage and packing costs when submitting work. We are also subject to internal and external verifications to continuously monitor that high standards are maintained – and work may occasionally have to be recalled for this to happen, which again requires extra postage.

We are very conscious that travelling of samples and paperwork is very harmful to the environment we live in, and with your help, are trying our best to cut down on this wherever possible. Online courses cut down by almost 75% the carbon footprint left by other forms of distance learning, although it is worthwhile stressing that distance learning itself is very environmentally friendly when compared with travel to traditional on-site classes.

For the longer City & Guilds courses you will need a sewing machine, but unless the course specifies it (e.g. Machine Embroidery for Beginners) you won’t for the shorter ones.

The same is true of computers. Internet and IT skills, which are required if you choose to study using an online course method, or if it is specifically included in the course title. You will need access to a digital camera to record your progress, and access to the internet to upload your images. However, this is at basic level and lots of help is available to you.

If you are uncertain about studying online - you can request a brochure and login to check out our online course system to see if you feel comfortable with it. It is just a case of entering your email and uploading your files to us – nothing too complex!

Otherwise a computer is simply a useful way of printing labels, recording things, etc.

If you have any questions please contact us.

We need good quality photographs of your work, that we can enlarge and examine in detail. Information about what is required will be covered as soon as you enrol. However, there can always be the odd time when we can’t see something. In this case we may ask you to re-shoot the photographs, or as a last resort - send in the piece of work. This is a very rare scenario and standards are never compromised.

Yes - we have an active Facebook page and regular newsletters along with open days during the summer.

If this is a really important feature of a course for you, and you love the idea of having others to bounce your ideas off and chat to - we strongly suggest that you consider the online course method. It is much quicker and easier to keep in touch this way.