The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education.
We provide around 12,000 part-time courses each year, reaching over 80,000 adults of all ages and educational backgrounds. We operate in all nine English regions and in Scotland.
We do our best to take education to where it is needed, amongst the local community, rather than expecting people to come to us. So WEA courses can be set up almost anywhere – for example in clubs, community centres, village halls, schools, pubs or where people work.
Many of our courses are run in partnership with local community groups, charities and other organisations - typically for members, service users or clients of those organisations. We also run many courses through one of our local branches (there are over 400); these branches are run by volunteers and organise courses in their local area open to anyone interested in the subject of the course.
To see what publicly available courses are coming up in your area, use our online course search. Alternatively, to enquire about courses and branches in your area, contact your local WEA region.
The three main categories of our courses
All WEA courses in England fall into one of three main categories, known as educational strands:
Community Involvement : 48% of courses
These are courses for groups or individuals who want to develop their skills and knowledge in order to play a fuller role in their community. Mainly run in partnership with local community organisations, the courses aim to provide learning opportunities to adults with little previous educational background.
Across the country we work with hundreds of partner organisations to provide over 5,000 WEA courses each year in this strand, typically to clients, members or service users of the partners. The courses are created around the needs of the learners and run in local venues such as community centres, schools and health centres, many in some of the most disadvantaged urban and rural communities.
If there’s a need for a new course or educational project for a local community organisation, let us know, through your local region.
The five most common broad subject areas for community involvement courses are crafts and creative arts; computer skills; health; family learning, and courses for trade union activists – although courses are run in many other subjects as well.
Cultural Studies: 35% of courses
Courses for people who want to learn in order to increase their understanding of particular subjects, share ideas with others and develop their creative skills. Cultural studies courses are open to anyone wanting to study structured courses of interest, but not typically to gain qualifications.
The five most popular broad subject areas are art (including art appreciation and art history) history, literature, creative writing, music and science.
Cultural Studies courses are largely run through one of the WEA’s many local branches.
Second chance to learn: 17% of courses
Thousands of people have joined a WEA class as a first step back into education – often for the first time since negative experiences at school. These courses concentrate on providing vital skills and often lead to qualifications.
The five most common broad subject areas in this strand are English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL); literacy; numeracy; computer skills, and study skills.
What makes us different?
As well as being a provider of courses, we are also a charity with a strong sense of social purpose. All our educational provision is developed with this in mind. We're also different from further education colleges and local authority providers, due to the high level of involvement of our members and volunteers. Our volunteers are involved at all levels in the organisation from branches to governance - without them, the WEA would not have the same distinctive character!