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: American Art 1800-1914

We will consider a range of works of art from North America, linking them to their social, political and historical contexts, and investigating their role in recording and shaping contemporary debates.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 06/02/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
St Paul's Church Hall (Chichester)
Churchside
Chichester
PO19 6FT
Tutor:
Prasannajit De Silva
Course code:
Q00009793
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £42.00

Art Appreciation: Colour in Art

This course aims to provide you with an appreciation of the role of colour in the history of art. It is suitable for both those who are new to the history of art, and for those who may have previously attended art history courses.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 27/02/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Bedhampton Community Centre (Havant)
21 Bedhampton Road
Bedhampton
Havant
PO9 3ES
Tutor:
Michaela Cranmer
Course code:
Q00009644
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £33.60

Music Appreciation: The Music of Russia - From the Tsars to Stalin

The sparkling ballets of Tchaikovsky, the fantasy world of Rimsky Korsakov, the romance of Rachmaninov and the quirky humour of Prokofiev. Over eight weeks, you will meet these and many more glorious examples of Russian music from the early 19TH century to the recent past. As we chart how the national music developed from folk beginnings to internationally recognised trail-blazers, you will be able to develop your listening skills and learn about the challenges with which the composers had to struggle in making their voices heard. Our course is for everyone. No previous knowledge is required; just a willingness to listen, learn and enjoy.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 27/02/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Storton Lodge (Goring)
Icknield Road
Goring-on-Thames
Goring
RG8 0DL
Tutor:
Christopher Carter
Course code:
Q00012182
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
9 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £80.00

Music Appreciation: Anniversaries and Exhibitions

The course aims to encourage learners to attend art exhibitions and/or musical events with a greater background knowledge in order to enhance appreciation. If actual attendance is not possible, to undertake independent research and hence, enjoy a more active and cultural lifestyle. The class also offers an opportunity for learners to interact socially with like- minded people in intellectual pursuits. It also encourages learners to acquire critical and analytical skills through debate and discussion.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 19/03/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Fairkytes Art Centre (Hornchurch)
51 Billet Lane
Hornchurch
RM11 1AX
Tutor:
Andrew Rothwell
Course code:
Q00012142
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £84.00

WEA Membership

For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
  • Access an archive of over 100 past lectures,
  • Get priority online and phone booking for autumn courses (England only),
  • Receive our Highway magazine and access back issues,
  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

Just add us to your basket to sign up today!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
WEA Membership

Music Appreciation: Beginners

An opportunity to explore creative and stimulating musical activities. This course is a great way to enhance health and wellbeing through music making.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 13/02/2024
Course code:
Q00009479
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £44.40

Literature: Selected Novels of Charles Dickens - Further Explorations in Literature

This relaxed and friendly course will consider a number of novels written by Charles Dickens in the 1840s and 1850s. The novels covered will be 'Martin Chuzzlewit' from 1844, 'David Copperfield' from 1850 and 'A Tale of Two Cities' from 1859. Dickens wrote a range of novels, during the 1800s, which remain hugely popular to this day. This course contains three of his most popular novels, which explore a range of themes and issues from the nineteenth-century, whilst still remaining relevant to our lives today in the twenty-first century.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 26/03/2024
Times:
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Exeter Community Centre (Exeter)
17 St. Davids Hill
Exeter
EX4 3RG
Tutor:
Greta Depledge
Course code:
Q00012920
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £92.40

Advanced French

This online advanced course is aimed at learners who have completed a French Improvers course. We will explore the language at a more complex level, across a range of subjects in a friendly and supportive online learning environment. There will be set course learning outcomes which you will work towards, to reflect your progress through the course. There will be both group discussions and individual activities to enrich the learning. You will learn how to express yourself with more confidence in everyday situations, using present and past tenses as well as exploring French culture.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 26/03/2024
Times:
9:00am - 11:00am
Duration:
11 sessions
Tutor:
Francoise Townend
Course code:
Q00012984
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £92.40

Music Making: Intermediate

Come and explore music theory in a friendly supportive online group. This course will cover reading sheet music, as well as wider music theory relating to key signature, time signature, intervals and clefs. This is an intermediate level course and requires existing skills in order to take part.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 09/01/2024 -
Tue 26/03/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Tutor:
Lorna Poole
Course code:
Q00012747
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £81.40

Creative Writing: Writing a Successful Memoir

Welcome to this friendly group of aspiring memoirists. Our workshops will help us to plan and write an engaging memoir. Using fun exercises, writing prompts, and reading extracts from stunning published memoirs, will help us write engaging memoirs. Your tutor, an experienced memoirist who has studied memoirs with Andrew T. Williams and Michael Hulse, will provide guidance, knowledge, and detailed feedback. Summary • Sharing ideas with like-minded writers • Honing writing craft in a supportive environment • Receiving detailed feedback from a tutor who is published and as an experienced editor, has supported many others to publication. This course is for aspiring memoirists.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 10/01/2024 -
Wed 24/01/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
3 sessions
Tutor:
Vanwy Arif
Course code:
Q00011913
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
5 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £22.20

Literature: Good As You - LGBTQ+ Literature in the Twentieth Century

This 8 week course will discuss LGBT+ literature in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Our principal texts will be: • Orlando - Virginia Woolf. • The Twyborn Affair - Patrick White. • The End of Eddy - Edouard Louis. • The poetry of WH Auden & Thom Gunn. The course will focus on how LGBTQ+ literature has sought to define its subject matter in the face of prejudice in the last hundred years, and how it has sought to be recognised as literature per se. The course will concentrate on issues of identity, sexuality and gender and the search for equality and enfranchisement.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 10/01/2024 -
Wed 06/03/2024
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Tutor:
Stephen Smith
Course code:
Q00012033
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00