AN innovative "shop" in Bury which offers studies with a long shelf-life is celebrating its first successful year.

The Learning Shop, located in the town's Crompton Street, has allowed many people to pick and choose a range of courses.

And thanks to the success of the bold initiative, many users have gone on to develop further studies.

The Learning Shop was launched last year and is a collaborative partnership between Bury College and Bury Lifelong Learning.

Now, both establishments are reflecting on a year of success which has seen many people use the shop's services to further their own education in a number of specialist fields.

Bosses are hopeful that success will be repeated in the coming 12 months as more and more people drop in to the shop to be given details of what's on offer. The aim of the thriving Learning Shop is to provide access to learning for local people, particularly those who are not traditionally involved in education.

To celebrate its first anniversary, the premises staged a special coffee morning when users met fellow lifelong learners to share experiences and chatted informally to the dedicated Lifelong Shop team, including its manager Jane Thompson.

The drop-in shop offers numerous learning facilities which include information technology, communication and numeracy programmes.

Jane Thompson said: "There is no typical Learning Shop user.

"Everyone who comes through the door has different needs and interests and that is what makes working here so exciting."

College and Lifelong Learning bosses are delighted with the success and popularity achieved in only the first year.

The manager added: "We have had fantastic success in our first year, with many drop-in users moving to further courses of study.

"We are looking forward to continuing to support local people in achieving their goals in the friendly and informal environment provided by the shop."