WEA courses

This welcoming course introduces essential techniques for drawing the human figure, from basic proportion and gesture to tone and simplified anatomy. You’ll develop confidence drawing both clothed and natural human forms using a variety of materials including pencil, charcoal, coloured chalks, water-based paints, and mixed media. Drawing from photos, videos, and live demonstrations, you’ll explore mark-making, light and shadow, and expressive line work. Suitable for beginners and returning artists, the course offers step-by-step guidance to build your skills and creativity in a supportive environment.

This welcoming course introduces essential techniques for drawing the human figure, from basic proportion and gesture to tone and simplified anatomy. You’ll develop confidence drawing both clothed and natural human forms using a variety of materials including pencil, charcoal, coloured chalks, water-based paints, and mixed media. Drawing from photos, videos, and live demonstrations, you’ll explore mark-making, light and shadow, and expressive line work. Suitable for beginners and returning artists, the course offers step-by-step guidance to build your skills and creativity in a supportive environment.

Explore the delicate beauty of flowers through the expressive techniques of ink, line and water-based wash in this hands-on course. Learn to create tone, texture, and depth using a variety of tools including technical pens, dip pens, and sticks. You’ll experiment with water-based colour washes to enhance your drawings, while developing skills in perspective and composition to bring your floral subjects to life. Suitable for all skill levels, this course combines technical instruction with creative freedom, encouraging you to develop a personal style inspired by nature’s intricate details.

This course is designed for anyone who wishes to gain confidence in using the email facility provided by the WEA’s virtually learning platform – Canvas. It will help students to communicate effectively with their tutor and understand the basics of how to use email.

Learn to use digital devices and gain essential computer skills for professional and personal use. Digital training helps you move with the times and not get left behind. This beginner’s course is for anyone who wants to learn digital skills, no matter your current knowledge. This course is appropriate for complete beginners, so don’t worry if this is all new to you. Learn to use word processing software and fill out online forms in this Digital Skills course. Understand how to use email and search for information online. This digital skills training also teaches you how to shop online securely. You’ll understand online safety and data storage

Continue developing English skills to help you in work and everyday life situations. This functional skills English entry 2 course teaches you skills for reading, writing, and communicating in English. Learn how to improve your writing skills and build on the basic reading skills from entry 1. Adult English courses teach you practical communication skills to help you get a job or study. Develop your English skills through real-life situations. This course teaches you tools and resources to improve your use of English in new and familiar situations. These skills can help you succeed in your studies, professional situations, and social interactions. This is a government-funded accredited English course for adults. Functional Skills qualifications are free if you don't already have a GCSE in English or Maths at grades A*-C, or 4-9. We'll check your level and any previous qualifications before you start. This ensures you are on the correct course.

With Guest-Tutor Alison Barker we will examine how the image of St George crossed boundaries and was disseminated across Europe. St George’s status as a chivalric hero and Christian martyr made him uniquely qualified to cross boundaries, especially through the networks of courts and court culture.

For the last century, crime fiction has been the most popular and lucrative of literary subgenres. But this commercial success belies a formal inventiveness and experiment, a constant drive to ‘make it new’, which has long been central to the genre. In this course we will read six crime novels (and three short stories) which chart the development of crime fiction. As well as considering each of these novels in isolation from week to week, we will also use the eight week course to ask ourselves: how has crime fiction changed through the years, and how has it remained the same? No previous knowledge of crime fiction is necessary – everybody is most welcome!

Exploring amazing artworks is central to this course, and we look at fascinating and beautiful paintings by Giotto, Masaccio, Masolino, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna and more. We look, too, at 15c sculpture, including the first ever sculpture competition. Other themes include patronage (crucial for artists to make a living) and the process of making art, including the great skills of fresco and of bronze casting.

Develop confidence to interact with others in English, no matter the situation. This ESOL course teaches you skills to help you communicate verbally in English. It can support you in job interviews, social conversations, or in your studies. This ESOL level 1 speaking and listening course builds on skills you learnt at entry 3. Gain tools to help you in conversations and sharpen your listening skills. This is an English course for adults. It is aimed at speakers of other languages. ESOL classes are divided into three areas: reading, writing, and speaking & listening. If you’re helping others access ESOL courses in the UK, you’ve come to the right place.