WEA courses

This course focuses on an understanding of counselling and developing practical skills. The importance of counselling for the wellbeing of individuals and society is being increasingly recognised. You will be introduced to the nature of counselling and learn and practice active listening skills such as reflecting, paraphrasing, summarising, and giving feedback. The course is aimed at anyone who may be considering either a career in counselling, or wanting to develop valuable helping and listening skills, as well as anyone interested in developing self-awareness.

Get an English qualification to help you access a variety of work and study options. Functional skills courses in English teach you to read, write, and communicate confidently in English. Functional skills English isn’t like learning English at school. This is an English course for adults created by adults. Develop practical English skills by learning language in context.

Gain a GCSE-equivalent qualification with this functional skills maths course. Learn maths skills to open doors to work and study opportunities. Functional maths courses also support you in everyday situations. Learn maths as an adult and enjoy the experience. Functional maths helps you develop practical maths skills in context. Understand how numeracy skills can assist you in a job or your personal life. This functional skills maths course teaches you essential maths skills through practical examples. It’s ideal for you if you would like to gain a GCSE-equivalent maths qualification.

Hyde Park is 140 hectares in area. It is an historic Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Park, past Buckingham Palace to St James's Park. Hyde Park is divided by the Serpentine and the Long Water lakes. For several centuries Hyde Park has been enriched by the installation of many statues and monuments. Enjoy this leisurely stroll around the park and learn about its fascinating history.

The Art of the Romanovs focuses on the portraits and public monuments of the Romanov dynasty from its founding in 1613 until its demise during the Russian Revolution in 1917. This course examines the evolution of Romanov portraiture and public monuments and explores formal and informal portraits of Romanov rulers, analysing their political and cultural significance and the artists behind these works. Key public monuments will be discussed with their symbolism and their role in shaping imperial identity and collective memory. You will gain an insight into how art served both as personal representation and public commemoration during the Romanov era. The course will have a 1 hour lunch break from 13:00 - 14:00.

This course is a follow on to the previous ‘Writing Your First Novel: Next Level’ course, but suitable for newly enrolling students with experience writing fiction. 'Writing your first Novel: Advanced' is all about the deeper craft of creative writing—those elements that will make your work really stand out when you are making your first steps into the world of writing, regardless of whether you are planning on submitting your work, or if you are just writing for fun. Giving you the opportunity to develop an effective creative writing practice, and further personal development, especially if you want to get that first novel out of your head and onto paper.

This micro course is designed for learners who want to improve their ability to critically evaluate information in today’s digital world. With the rise of social media and online news, it’s more important than ever to be able to distinguish between credible sources and misinformation. The course will cover the basics of media literacy, including how to identify reliable information and recognize biased or misleading content. On completion of this course learners will be awarded the digital badge: Fact Checking in the Digital Age. This badge celebrates those who apply critical thinking and digital literacy skills to navigate the vast landscape of online information, separating facts from falsehoods. Recipients of this badge are committed to maintaining the integrity of digital spaces by promoting accuracy, reliability, and responsible information sharing practices.

This drawing course will take place in the fascinating Victorian Bournemouth Natural Science Society. The Museum is a treasure trove of carefully preserved examples of natural form: butterflies, shells stuffed birds and skulls, which learners will be able to draw in pencil and coloured pencil - a small and intimate version of the Natural History Museum. One to one instruction will be given by the tutor (a professional artist) This course is for complete beginners and those looking to improve their skills and develop their own style.

This course will focus on looking at ways of protecting our health. This course will help people manage their health and money better by looking at health facts, budgeting and reducing food waste. We will use numeracy to upskill students in understanding their health in numbers so that they are able to make better choices and increase their mental health and wellbeing. 

The Confidence in your Community course is an exciting additional course which engages learners for an addition session. The course is designed to give them the opportunity to build their confidence in and around their local community; whilst they are out there using their newly learned ESOL skills. The course will focus on identifying local resources (such as libraries, community centres and local services) to help learners to engage more in their communities and build their confidence in accesses these local resources and encouraging them to be more engaged locally also. By learning the vocabulary for and then identifying local services; learners can start their journeys towards engaging in the community more, benefiting themselves and their local area.