Join an online course with the WEA

We know that online courses mean that you can learn from the comfort of your home. These online courses are open to adult learners like you. You can get the live experience of a WEA classroom without the inconvenience of travelling to a venue.

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Whether you are an online learning pro or this is your first experience of learning online, these courses are for you. Our supportive tutors are here to help you get the best out our classes. You might not be in a classroom, but you’ll still get the benefit of live face-to-face teaching. In addition to your classes, your course materials can be easily accessed digitally.

From online art courses to history courses, our adult learning classes are fun and engaging. Whether you want to improve your health and wellbeing, or learn new sewing skills, there is something for everyone.

Learn something new or build on something you already find interesting. Browse our range of courses and discover your perfect online class. Expand your interests, build your confidence and grow your skills.

Find the right online class for you today.

Skills for life Languages & culture Humanities & science Arts & crafts

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History: Intermediate- The Viking Age

The Vikings were the terror of western Europe in the 9th Century and remain one of the most striking and enduring topics in history. We will examine how Anglo-Saxon England almost collapsed under the weight of the Viking threat; making a detailed exploration of the life and times of Anglo-Saxon England and the other realms of the British Isles as the former Mercian hegemony was lost and as they faced the onslaught of the Vikings. In particular, we will consider what may have motivated the Norsemen, how they achieved their success, and how the Saxon kingdoms responded to the crisis.
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Course Information

Dates:
Fri 10/05/2024 -
Fri 19/07/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Gary Slator
Course code:
Q00014240
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £81.40

Craft: Intermediate Sustainable Sewing - Sashiko and Boro Mending

The environmental impact of textiles production is becoming more and more important. Why buy new when you can create your own unique designs using what you already have? This course will teach you plenty of skills on how to mend your clothes beautifully and originally. We will look at the historical art of Sashiko patterns and the Boro mending technique that was used in Japan in the Edo period. There will be plenty of beautiful patterns to choose from and to learn about and to sew yourselves. As this course is intermediate, a grasp of basic hand sewing is needed.
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Course Information

Dates:
Mon 13/05/2024 -
Mon 29/07/2024
Times:
11:30am - 1:30pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Rebecca Spear
Course code:
Q00014433
How you'll learn:
Online
Status:
Waiting list
Fee range
Free to £81.40

Craft: Beginners' Sustainable Sewing - Small Sewing Projects

If you are a beginner sewer and would like to get started with some small, easy projects, come and join this new course. No previous experience of the sewing machine is necessary. We will start with getting used to the machine and making a simple pin cushion. This will also make us think about what fabric we can recycle and how to use up all the little scraps of fabric you may have and are not sure what to do with. You will find that many useful and decorative items can be created at home using materials you already have instead of buying new.
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Course Information

Dates:
Tue 14/05/2024 -
Tue 23/07/2024
Times:
9:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Rebecca Spear
Course code:
Q00014243
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
0 places remaining
Status:
Waiting list
Fee range
Free to £122.10

Craft: Intermediate Sustainable Sewing - Sashiko and Boro Mending

The environmental impact of textiles production is becoming more and more important. Why buy new when you can create your own unique designs using what you already have? This course will teach you plenty of skills on how to mend your clothes beautifully and originally. We will look at the historical art of Sashiko patterns and the Boro mending technique that was used in Japan in the Edo period. There will be plenty of beautiful patterns to choose from and to learn about and to sew yourselves. As this course is intermediate, a grasp of basic hand sewing is needed.
View details

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 15/05/2024 -
Wed 24/07/2024
Times:
9:00am - 11:00am
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Rebecca Spear
Course code:
Q00014244
How you'll learn:
Online
Status:
Waiting list
Fee range
Free to £81.40

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For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
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  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

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Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
WEA Membership

Textiles and Fashion: Don't Throw It, Darn It!

We will look at ways to help you extend the lives of some of your much- loved clothes. You will be able to darn along with me if you would like to. I will show you the traditional technique, then you can perfect it in your own time. I shall demonstrate on a small hole, and a larger one, the technique is the same on both. I shall also show you some examples of more modern styles of darning where the darn is a design statement in its own right, offering you opportunities to be as creative as you like.
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Course Information

Dates:
Wed 15/05/2024 -
Wed 15/05/2024
Times:
10:00am - 11:30am
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Catherine Wilcock
Course code:
Q00014300
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
6 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £5.55

Craft: Beginners' Sustainable Sewing - Small Sewing Projects

If you are a beginner sewer and would like to get started with some small, easy projects, come and join this new course. No previous experience of the sewing machine is necessary. We will start with getting used to the machine and making a simple pin cushion. This will also make us think about what fabric we can recycle and how to use up all the little scraps of fabric you may have and are not sure what to do with. You will find that many useful and decorative items can be created at home using materials you already have instead of buying new.
View details

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 15/05/2024 -
Wed 24/07/2024
Times:
11:30am - 2:30pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Rebecca Spear
Course code:
Q00014437
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
3 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £122.10

History: Spirit of the North – Nordic Romantic Art

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the Nordic art movement of National Romanticism. The course will give a contextual historical background to the art and look at the art and artists of 19th century Scandinavia. In Northern Europe landscape painting has a powerful hold on our visual culture and especially in Scandinavia, where far northerly folk have found a kinship with nature to be indispensable. Nordic art is a little known treasure trove of stunning images of the Northern landscape and the country people. We will look in particular depth at the artistic developments in Norway.
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Course Information

Dates:
Mon 20/05/2024 -
Mon 22/07/2024
Times:
11:45am - 1:45pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Tim Stimson
Course code:
Q00014355
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
6 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00

Literature: The Literature of the Harlem Renaissance - An Introduction

The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of Black American culture running from around the period 1919-1939 in Harlem and other Black communities. Its influence continues today and is global. Whilst all aspects of the arts and intellectual activity flourished during this period, we will focus on its literature and the debates that arose from it. How were Black people to portray themselves after centuries of misrepresentation? What purpose was literature to fulfil for Black communities? How much were the writings of the Harlem Renaissance to be evaluated as a separate movement? How much were they to be integrated with the literature of the dominant White culture? Together, we will be discussing these and other aspects of this fascinating and radical movement.
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Course Information

Dates:
Wed 22/05/2024 -
Wed 12/06/2024
Times:
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Duration:
4 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Clare Jackson
Course code:
Q00014844
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £29.60

Manging stress, fatigue and overwhelm

Do you find it difficult to wind down? When we’re stressed it’s hard to feel calm and relaxed. But you don’t have to live with constant stress. There are simple techniques you can learn to manage it. This stress awareness course is helpful for anyone who wants to learn to alleviate stress. In this course we will learn how to identify stress risk factors, recognise the symptoms of stress, and apply techniques to reduce it. Depending on your needs, there are various study options after this course.
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Course Information

Dates:
Fri 24/05/2024 -
Fri 24/05/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Bex Harper
Course code:
Q00014238
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
5 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £5.55

Creative Writing: Explore Your Writing

This five week series of workshops will explore your creativity. We will concentrate on writing drawn from personal experience, writing poems and short stories. Each session will concentrate on one specific aspect of inspiration and technique, and at the conclusion of each session students will have created enough material to be in a position to write the first draft of a piece of prose or a poem. We will explore how to develop personal experience and transform it into writing. We will also explore narrative shapes of the short story: causative situations, rising action, climax and denouement versus alternative strategies, plot construction: how to build convincing narratives. We will discover characterisation, how to develop psychologies for your evolving characters and traditional and contemporary techniques for poems. Each workshop will be self-contained but taken together will establish the main elements of writing short stories.
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Course Information

Dates:
Tue 04/06/2024 -
Tue 06/08/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Stephen Smith
Course code:
Q00014816
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00