One hundred year celebrations'

The launch event for the Leicester Branch Centenary celebrations was held at Vaughan College on Friday, 14 November 2008. The evening was a great success with both past and present students and tutors in attendance at the event. As well as volunteers and others with a connection to the WEA and its work in Leicester. John Swinfield-Wells, Chair of the Leicester Branch committee and Regional Chair of the East Midlands Association, welcomed the guests to the event. This was followed by an entertaining and informative talk by Professor Robert Colls of Leicester University, on the WEA's work within the history of the adult education movement. Cynthia Brown talked about the work of the Hands on History group which produced the centenary publication, Still Learning: 100 Years of the WEA in Leicester, and Cherry Heinrich, Tutor Organiser for the Leicester Branch formally thanked everyone for their contribution to the evening. Councillor Roger Blackmore, Deputy Lord Mayor of Leicester and a staunch and long-standing supporter of the WEA, cut the celebration cake before all the guests mingled to reminisce about their experiences of the WEA in Leicester. Click here for more news on the Leicester Branch. Some of the members of the Hands on History Group at the Centenary Launch. Back row, from left to right: John Swinfield-Wells; Daniela Sommefeldt; Barbara Close; Eileen Gumley; Gillian Lighton; Valerie Tookey. Front row: Linda Spick; Cynthia Brown (Tutor); Elaine Richardson; John Staniland; Robin Cook. Cynthia Brown, tutor for the Hands on History course, being presented with the Learner of the Year Award by Gill Aldridge, the outgoing Regional Chair of the East Midlands Association at the 2008 WEA Annual Conference. Deputy Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Roger Blackmore, cutting the celebration cake, purchased with the award prize money.     Professor Robert Colls of the School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester, giving the centenary address. Some of the original members of the Lytton Road Group (see Still Learning, chapter 11. From left to right: Cherry Heinrich; Gloria Raven; Beryl Whitehead; Rosie Colls.