Love to learn with the WEA

Our languages and culture courses span the length and breadth of England and Scotland, with the option to study online or in person at a time that suits you. Whether you’re looking to learn a new language and immerse yourself in another country, or you simply wish to indulge in your love and fascination of film, we have the course for you. 

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Our creative writing courses will nourish your inner writer, providing you with a platform to develop your love of poetry, non-fiction or script development. If literature courses are more your kind of thing, then you’re in luck too, as there are a wide range of topics to choose from.  

Literary greats and great periods in history

Our language courses offer you the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in a completely new culture, developing your skills so that you can speak confidently in countries right across the world. German, Italian and Greek are just a few examples of the language courses we have to offer, with many others taking place throughout the year.  

As you’d expect, literary greats such as Agatha Christie and Shakespeare feature regularly. There’s also the option to examine other time periods in English literature too, helping you develop your critical reading and analysis skills - perfect whether you’re a beginner or more experienced in the subject.  

If you prefer history then you’ve got a choice too, from courses on subjects you’d expect such as the first world war, or art history and studying the works of iconic painters such as Salvador Dali. 

Support and guidance

Whatever course you choose, you'll learn in a supportive environment where the class sizes are small, ensuring you get the attention you deserve, with an experienced and qualified tutor on-hand to guide you through your learning too.  

A lot of our cultural learning is delivered by our branch network: learn more here.

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Art Appreciation: Exploring Art and design between 1890 to 1960: Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modernism

This exciting course explores and encompasses three very prominent art movements from 1880 to 1960.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/09/2025 -
Wed 03/12/2025
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Billingshurst Community and Conference C
Roman Way
Billingshurst
RH14 9QW
Tutor:
Kerry Van Der Schraft
Course code:
Q00022318
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £176.00

Literature: Ovid's Metamorphoses

The Roman Poet Ovid was unconventional. In an age when poets were expected to write about great deeds, he wrote instead about love affairs, and shocked his world. When he did write an epic there was still no heroism: instead he brought to life the myths of his Graeco-Roman world, by focusing on the central theme of transformation. No book from the ancient world has had as much influence on the art of the West as Ovid. From the middle ages, climaxing in the renaissance, and continuing into our own time, Ovid's Metamorphoses have furnished a glory of subject matter for artists.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/09/2025 -
Wed 22/10/2025
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
The Priory (Ware)
High Street
Ware
SG12 9AL
Tutor:
Adrian Eckersley
Course code:
Q00022328
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £80.00

Art Practical: Landscape painting

This course gives students the opportunity to explore and experiment with different acrylic painting approaches and techniques in landscape painting. The aim is to give students the skills and confidence to make individual and original paintings, for improved mental health, well-being and enjoyment.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/09/2025 -
Wed 10/12/2025
Times:
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Frank Ferrie
Course code:
Q00023207
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £160.00

Art Appreciation: Nordic Art 1850 - 1950

This course will focus on the development of modern painting in the Nordic countries. In week 1 there will be a brief study of Nordic art in the first half of the 19th century, whilst the remainder of the course will focus on the period 1850-1950 and will feature work by artists such as Harald Sohlberg, P S Krøyer, Anna Ancher, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Edvard Munch, Hilma af Klint, Finnur Jónsson, Karl Nordström, Helene Schjerfbeck, Asger Jorn and many more.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 30/09/2025 -
Tue 09/12/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Bedhampton Community Centre (Havant)
21 Bedhampton Road
Bedhampton
Havant
PO9 3ES
Tutor:
Michaela Cranmer
Course code:
Q00022319
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £176.00

WEA Membership

WEA membership is changing: more information is coming soon!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
£15

Literature: The Ghost Stories of M. R. James

Human beings have told each other stories about ghosts since the ancient times, but the ghost story as we know it was created by the writer and scholar M. R. James (1862-1936). At Christmas, James would read his stories aloud to friends and colleagues at the University of Cambridge. The BBC began adapting James’s stories in 1971 as part of their ’Ghost Story for Christmas’ series. In this course we will look at seven of James’s most famous and enjoyed stories, a number of which were adapted by the BBC. We will consider each story on its own, looking at James’s use of suspense and humour. How does James write a ghost story? Are they scary? And, most of all, what are we scared of? No previous knowledge of ghost stories is necessary – everybody is most welcome!

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 02/10/2025 -
Thu 20/11/2025
Times:
6:00pm - 8:30pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Joseph Williams
Course code:
Q00023278
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £160.00

Creative Writing: Writing Detective Stories

We will consider characters in murder mysteries and how to make them alive. The detective can be portrayed with much about their background and problems or be mainly a problem-solver with little about their personal life. Both work well. We will consider how to create suspense which is reflected in a number of suspects all with possible motives. The perpetrator should not be the most obvious, though often a double twist where they were eliminated early on, can create an unexpected denouement or the least likely. We will look at the amount of descriptive detail needed at the murder scene, with information showing both the method and clues that will develop the story.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 02/10/2025 -
Thu 30/10/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Stella Stocker
Course code:
Q00022371
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £80.00

Art Appreciation: Masterpieces of the Kröller-Müller Museum: Neo-Impressionists and Modernists

Helene Kroeller-Mueller’s passion for art led her to create a museum in the Netherlands to house her outstanding collection of paintings which range from the Barbizon school until the Second World war. This course explores the origin and history of the museum. Selected art works from Van Gogh to Mondrian are examined in detail together with bronzes by Barbara Hepworth and Rietveld’s Pavilion in the museum’s sculpture garden. The course coincides with the National Gallery’s exhibition dedicated to the Kroeller-Mueller collection of Neo-Impressionist works. This course will be taught by Dalila Castelijn.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 08/10/2025 -
Wed 22/10/2025
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
The Cornerstone (Wokingham)
Norreys Avenue
Wokingham
RG40 1UE
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00022287
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £48.00

Literature: History of the English Language

If you’re interested in finding out how the English language developed (and why we don’t all speak German, Danish or French instead of English) this course is for you. We look at the development of the English language through seven different lenses, starting with Old English (Anglo-Saxon) which built on Celtic languages and Latin. We explore the many influences on English including the Vikings through Old Norse, Norman French, Biblical English, Shakespearean English and Global English.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 09/10/2025 -
Thu 27/11/2025
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Hockliffe Street Baptist Church
33 Hockliffe Street
Leighton Buzzard
LU7 1EZ
Tutor:
Rebecca Eliahoo Charles
Course code:
Q00022298
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £128.00

Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice (Day Course)

Whether you want to write memoirs, a novel, stories or poetry or for personal development come along and join this friendly day course. We will explore creative writing as therapy and the development of your writing skills, imagination and confidence. We will look at different ways of writing about life experience, memory, incidents and details that illustrate a narrative and how the use of imagination creates many forms of writing, such as stories poem and memoirs. We will have short writing projects and discussion of various ways of writing, with some published examples of autobiographical writing, memoirs and poems.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 18/10/2025 -
Sat 18/10/2025
Times:
10:00am - 3:30pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Stella Stocker
Course code:
Q00022372
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £48.00

Art Appreciation: The Art of the Illustrator

The Illustrators could be called artists of the magazine or newspaper, as that is where their work normally appears. Enjoy this survey of a large group of illustrators from the 18th century to the present day. Beginning around 1800 with James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson whose political witty and satirical cartoons attracted a huge following, the course will reach to the preset day, to the modern equivalents of Gillray and Rowlandson such as Martin Rowson. The illustrations you will see often contain witty observations on family life. Often they contain a pithy observation which contains a general truth – and as such could be called visual aphorisms.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 20/10/2025 -
Mon 17/11/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Colin Lomas
Course code:
Q00022367
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £80.00