Maidenhead votes for Liz

Liz Crathorne, Branch Secretary of the WEA Maidenhead Branch in Berkshire has been recognised by readers of her local newspaper as an 'Unsung Hero' in a campaign to thank local men and women for their contribution to the local community.

The campaign was run by the Maidenhead Advertiser and was designed to highlight the wide range of work carried out by volunteers and shows that community spirit is alive and kicking in the town. Over fifty people were nominated by locals as a show of thanks for all types of services from helping with delivery of meals on wheels, fundraising for local causes, volunteering on community projects to care of neighbours who are elderly and vulnerable.

Liz was nominated for her hard work in helping to run the WEA's Maidenhead Branch - a volunteer-based WEA group which ensures that people in and around Maidenhead have access to a good range of part-time adult education courses. This year the Branch has managed to attract 437 students. There are part-time day and evening classes on offer, as well as day schools and courses which are run jointly with Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.

Liz Crathorne (above right) of WEA Maidenhead Branch sports a winning smile for her photograph in the Maidenhead Advertiser, after being nominated as one of the town's 'unsung heroes' for her voluntary work with the WEA. Photo reproduced with kind permission of the Advertiser.

Liz became Branch Secretary in 1995 and was a WEA student for three years prior to this after retiring from her job as a research chemist with BP. Talking about her time with the Branch she says: "The Maidenhead programme has changed considerably in the last ten years. In 1995 we ran just eleven courses. This has grown three-fold and this year we are on course to deliver about 7000 Guided Learning Hours across 32 classes."

Liz says that the Branch has managed to keep loyal students from term to term as well as attracting new people onto courses, with almost one-third of the students new to the WEA this year. She puts the success of the Branch down to the effort that she and her Branch Committee colleagues put into publicising their progamme.

"Every year we publish our own course guide which comes out for Adult Learners Week in May," she explains. "We produce 3,500 copies and mail the programme out to about 700 ex-students and distribute it to all the libraries in a 20-mile radius. We then spend the summer topping up the libraries and trying to find new places to leave the publicity."

For the Branch to recruit as many students as possible, it's important for the course guide to be published and distributed in advance of the new September term - and at the same time as that of the local colleges! Liz also ensures that information websites such as the local council's are targeted in the Branch's publicity campaign.

But the work doesn't stop there. Once the course brochure is published Liz starts the process of enrolling students immediately, using a database she developed herself to help reduce administration and paperwork.

The Branch holds classes at six venues in total, including Maidenhead itself and in the outlying villages of Cookham Dean and Hurley. As many of the venues do not have caretakers, Liz and fellow Branch volunteers are often to be seen opening up at venues, setting up the equipment, arranging tables and chairs as well as clearing up after the classes.

Describing the extent of the work involved in helping to run the Branch, Liz says: "Although it is a lot of work it is very rewarding. I always meet someone I know when I go into Maidenhead and have made a lot of good friends through the WEA. Several students have told me the courses have changed their lives and most people are appreciative of the work that the Maidenhead committee and the other volunteers put in." Liz says she is also lucky to have such a supportive Branch Committee and an equally helpful colleague in the form of WEA Area Learning Manager, June Diegan of WEA Southern Region.

Liz's colleagues and friends at the WEA know how much time and energy it takes to help run a successful Branch programme and are delighted that she has received such well-deserved recognition for her hard work.

To order a copy of the forthcoming Course Guide from the WEA Maidenhead Branch you can contact Liz on 01628 632208.

The WEA in Maidenhead is part of the WEA Southern Region. For further information about the Region you can contact:

WEA Southern Region
Unit 57 Riverside 2
Sir Thomas Longley Road
Rochester
Kent ME2 4DP

Tel: 01634 730101
Fax: 01664 295456
E-mail: southern@wea.org.uk