The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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Refund policy and pausing your Online Course

Our Commitment to Educational Access: Explaining Our No Refund Policy

To enable this cycle of reinvestment, we have a no-refund policy for our courses. We want to ensure that all potential students are aware of this policy at the time of enrolment. This approach allows us to plan for and allocate scholarships and support our social prescription baking scheme effectively.We understand that life can sometimes be unpredictable, and we want to accommodate our students’ needs as much as possible. Therefore, if you need to take a break after starting a course, you can pause and resume at your convenience.Before you enrol, please make sure to familiarize yourself with our policies and the unique social enterprise model of The Sourdough School. We are here to support your learning journey and empower you to become part of a movement for systems change in the world of baking, health, and social equality.Terms and conditions We are passionate about providing education to as many people as possible, regardless of their financial circumstances. As both a small business and a social enterprise, we strive to use our resources effectively and inclusively.Each year, we calculate our tuition fees and allocate our scholarships, bursaries, and awards accordingly. This calculation is based on the assumption that once a student accepts a course, they commit to completing it, and the tuition fees they pay are dedicated to implementing our systems change programme. Our no refund policy, in the simplest terms, is integral to our ability to provide this opportunity to others. For every person who pays for a course, we can extend the training and education to two people who would not ordinarily have the opportunity. This approach aligns with our values of inclusivity and learning accessibility. Refunding course fees would significantly impact our ability to run this programme. Therefore, instead of providing refunds, we offer the option to pause your course. We’ve found this to be a supportive and inclusive solution, allowing students to return when they are ready without financial loss. For the 2022/23 Programme, we generated £50,000 in revenue and awarded £150,000 worth of scholarships and awards. To continue operating and providing these opportunities, we cannot offer refunds. This is why we have a strict application process and require all applicants to fully understand and agree to our no-refund policy. If unforeseen circumstances arise and you are unable to continue with your course at this time, we can pause your course and re-enroll you the following year. We believe this approach respects both our commitment to providing educational opportunities and our students’ varying life situations. Thank you for understanding and supporting our mission to make sourdough education accessible for all. To pause your course, please fill in this interruption of study below, and we will transfer you to next year’s course.
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