WEA courses

Are you looking for functional skills English courses for free? You can boost your maths and English skills with a government-funded course at the WEA. If you are over 19 and don’t have an English GCSE at C or Grade 4, then you can study for free.  Not having a qualification in English can hold you back. In many cases, you will need it for apprenticeships or to get a job. Maybe you want to ace your GCSE retakes but the idea of going back to school fills you with dread. Or you want a level 2 qualification, but you don’t want to do GCSEs again. This is where the WEA comes in.  We’re not like a school or a college; we’re adult learning specialists. Our English functional skills classes help you build on the skills that you use every day. We make our courses fun and easy to learn.

Are you looking for functional skills maths courses for free?  You can boost your maths and maths skills with a government-funded course at the WEA. If you are over 19 and don’t have an English GCSE at C or Grade 4, then you can study for free.  Not having a qualification in maths can hold you back. In many cases, you will need it for apprenticeships or to get a job. Maybe you want to ace your GCSE retakes but the idea of going back to school fills you with dread. Or you want a level 2 qualification, but you don’t want to do GCSEs again. This is where the WEA comes in.  We’re not like a school or a college; we’re adult learning specialists. Our maths functional skills classes help you build on the skills that you use every day. We make our courses fun and easy to learn.

This short, practical course helps learners build confidence and develop key communication skills for job interviews. Over three sessions, learners will explore what employers look for, how to prepare effectively, and how to present themselves with confidence. Through group discussions, role-play and mock interviews, learners will practice answering common questions and using positive body language. This course supports learners to feel more prepared and confident when attending interviews, helping them take the next step towards employment. No prior experience is needed just a willingness to participate and grow.

Confidence to Career is a four‑week programme designed to help learners build self-belief while developing essential employability skills. Through weekly two‑hour sessions, learners will explore personal strengths, overcome barriers, and develop positive communication techniques that enhance confidence in real-life situations. Alongside this, the course introduces practical tools for job searching, CV writing, interview skills, and workplace expectations. Interactive activities, group discussions, and reflective tasks ensure learners feel supported as they grow. By the end of the programme, learners will feel more empowered, more prepared, and more confident in taking their next steps towards employment success.

We will learn how to paint chosen animal portraits (students can get to paint their own pets, or those of friends) using line, tone, colour and perspective in coloured chalk pastel, acrylic and watercolour. Advice on buying art materials will be given, but please have chalk pastels and coloured pastel paper (can be brown wrapping paper, or scrap book) available for the first lesson. If buying from new I recommend Inscribe half sticks as they are good value. Artists studied will be Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Holman Hunt, Lucian Freud and countless other contemporary examples. Learn the rewarding skill of painting animal portraits - achieve an ability to create a likeness, while developing your own style in a friendly supportive atmosphere.

We will learn how to make abstract art that is unique and experimental, using chalk pastels, watercolour, acrylics, mixed media, and collage. Develop skills in all these media including brushwork and colour mixing. Artists studied will include JMW Turner, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Hilma af Klint, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and countless contemporary artists. You will also be introduced to some lesser-known female artists who have been formerly neglected by the art establishment. A stimulating course which will help you will develop/improve your skills and creative thinking. Have fun and make art in a friendly like-minded group.

This talk explores two Victorian artists united by a fascination with light, landscape, and the changing world. John Atkinson Grimshaw, who left his job as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway to become a painter, gaining acclaim for nocturnal urban scenes that capture British cities through twilight, fog, rain, and gaslight. And Marianne North, who originally trained as a singer but turned to painting, creating vibrant, detailed studies of plants, landscapes, and people. The session contrasts Grimshaw’s atmospheric cityscapes with North’s rich natural studies and considers their legacy, including influence on later painters and public understanding of nature.

We will learn how to make abstract summer landscape art inspired by the world around you (and weather!), that is unique and experimental, using chalk pastels, watercolour, acrylics, mixed media and collage, developing drawing and painting techniques. Artists studied will include JMW Turner, Monet, Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse, Mondrian, Hilma af Klint, Georgia O’Keeffe, Lee Krasner and countless contemporary artists. This course will also introduce you to some lesser-known female artists who have been formerly neglected by the art establishment. Have fun, develop your skills, and make art in a friendly like-minded group, inspired by this wonderful time of year.

This advanced course is designed for experienced textile and fashion learners who want to push their creative practice by exploring sophisticated embellishment techniques. Focusing on both traditional and contemporary methods, the course teaches how to design, construct, and apply a wide range of decorative elements to enhance garments, accessories, or textile artworks. Learners will experiment with advanced surface-decoration processes such as beadwork, hand embroidery, appliqué, fabric manipulation, 3D textile structures, couture embellishment techniques, and mixed-media detailing. They will investigate how embellishments can elevate a design concept, add texture, create focal points, and communicate personal style. Students will work through idea development, sampling, and refinement, creating a series of high-quality embellishment tests before applying selected techniques to a final project. The course also explores professional considerations, including design cohesion, durability, placement, and how to integrate embellishment into finished pieces without overwhelming the form or construction. With tutor guidance, learners will develop their own creative direction while strengthening precision, craftsmanship, and problem-solving skills. By the end of the course, participants will have a collection of advanced embellishment samples and a fully embellished piece that showcases technical expertise and a strong design identity—ideal for portfolio building or progressing towards professional work.

This course is funded by the North East Combined Authority and only available to residents living within the North East Combined Authority area. Are you bilingual? Ever thought about using your language skills to help out in the community? Did you know you can get many jobs with languages? If you speak English and another language fluently, you could make a great community interpreter. This community interpreter course gives you an introduction to the language and interpreting skills needed for this type of work. It can teach you foundational concepts to test your community interpreting skills informally with family or friends. This course can prepare you to help members of your family or community to overcome language barriers in their everyday lives. It can also help you decide if you’re interested in pursuing community interpreting jobs.