The charts illustrate the proportion of students taking part in various courses at an adult education center in 1985 and this year.
Overall, it is clear that two of the six courses offered in 1985, namely music appreciation and local history, have been replaced by one related to IT, which is also the most popular course at the moment. Meanwhile, among the original four, fitness and dance courses retain the same appeal, whereas the other three have experienced different changes.
Looking first at the courses with diminishing appeal, modern languages used to attract the highest proportion of students, at 24%, but at present, this figure has dropped notably to 17%. A less pronounced decline of only 2% was found in art, with participation levels standing at 17% and 15% in 1985 and at present, respectively.
By contrast, a higher percentage of students have chosen cookery courses, rising from 17% to 19%, while fitness and dance courses maintain the same participation level of 22%, being the second most popular option in both years.
Finally, as for the courses that have been replaced, local history was chosen by 15% of the students in 1985, roughly two times the figure for music appreciation. However, both of these courses have been replaced by one about IT, which now attracts the highest number of students, constituting 27% of the total participants.