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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Creative Writing: Body Stories Workshop

This friendly four-hour creative writing workshop will invite you to enter into relationship with your bodies and surroundings. The session will be held in a supportive way and will integrate some simple yoga inspired movement (adaptable to all bodies), prompts for creative and reflective expression through writing, and even some environmental science! You will be guided to a holistic understanding of person and place. This course is ideal for people who like to write and to contemplate how to live more skilfully as individuals, as a community and in relationship with their surroundings. There will be time for sharing small parts of your writing towards the end of the workshop but no pressure, it’s about an unfolding individual/shared creative process and participants need to feel at ease to write freely.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/07/2024 -
Wed 24/07/2024
Times:
10:00am - 2:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00014762
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
1 place remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £16.80

Music Making: African Drumming for All

African Drumming Workshop A great way to end the working week! Whether you are a seasoned drummer or just curious to have a go, this practical workshop in African drumming will inspire you with music and culture. Our experienced tutor will guide the group to play the Djembe drums to create simple beats and harmonies. Let go of stress and end the week on a high note!

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 26/07/2024 -
Fri 26/07/2024
Times:
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
City Hall, Sunderland
Plater Way
Sunderland
SR3 2GJ
Tutor:
Mark Barfoot
Course code:
Q00015399
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Ways to Wellbeing: Prose for Wellbeing: reading and writing upbeat narratives for improved wellbeing

Writing prose is a powerful tool for enhancing one's well-being. Regularly writing down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences can help you process emotions, gain insights, and reduce stress. On this taster course you will be reading about life writing and fiction in short and abstract form with happy conclusions to support a positive outlook on life. You will also write your own memoir and fiction pieces to help you process negative beliefs and thought patterns that hold you back and deal with emotions more effectively. By the end of this taster course, you will gain some knowledge of prose and how it can be used to improve your overall well–being.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 30/07/2024 -
Tue 30/07/2024
Times:
2:30pm - 5:30pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Sarah Wardle
Course code:
Q00017576
How you'll learn:
Online and in venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £11.10

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

Creative Writing: Writers’ Online Retreat: Write, Feedback, Progress!

Over 5 consecutive days, you’ll set an achievable goal, immerse yourself in 45 minutes of writing and get feedback from the tutor and peers when you share. Imagine the amount of work and momentum you’ll build over 5 days.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 05/08/2024 -
Fri 09/08/2024
Times:
10:00am - 11:30am
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017740
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £27.75

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

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

Creative Writing: Writing the City

This course will introduce you to techniques to bring a city alive in your stories, either fictional or non fiction, long or short form writing. This workshop consists of a blend of activities: writing exercises to practice your craft; close reading of extracts from published inspirational writers and teaching points on creative writing techniques. There is an opportunity to share your fresh words in small groups and receive gentle, appreciative feedback.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 07/08/2024 -
Wed 28/08/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
4 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017742
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £29.60

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

Understanding Neurodiversity

This course is a primary guide to Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism and what it means to be Neurodivergent. It will help explain neurological difference and how variations on thinking and behaving might affect understanding, learning and communication. We will identify and examine the different traits and behaviours associated with Neurodiversity, to help answer some of the frequently asked questions surrounding neurological conditions. This course will consider how we can promote difference and help change the social systems and beliefs that are outdated and not helpful when supporting a Neurodivergent person to thrive and have better life chances, including employment.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 13/08/2024 -
Tue 13/08/2024
Times:
11:00am - 4:15pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
NST Hub (North Somerset Training Communi
31 Alexandra Parade
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 1QZ
Tutor:
Katie Dexter
Course code:
Q00017115
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £21.00

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

Creative Writing: Writing Food

This 2-hour workshop will stimulate your imagination and palette for writing food stories from fiction, life writing and reportage. You will read published stories to provide inspiration and techniques to embellish your own writing. You can share your writing in pairs to give confidence and courage to write more.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 15/08/2024 -
Thu 15/08/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017741
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £7.40

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

Creative Writing: Read Like a Writer

We’ll read a wide-range of short stories, memoir and novel extracts from diverse genres and authors. Each week we’ll be assigned two texts for close reading before the class. In class, the tutor will facilitate discussion around the techniques used and set a short writing exercise to practice a technique.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 04/09/2024 -
Wed 02/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017744
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

Literature: Victorian Literature Through the Decades - The 1830s

During this course we will consider a number of novels that were pubished in the 1830s as the start of an exploration of literature published through the decades of Victoria’s long reign. In order to get some sense of how literature was beginning to cross borders in this decade we will look at works by English authors and also a French and an American writer. The following works will be studied: Old Man Goriot (Honoré de Balzac, 1835); The Vicar of Wrexhill (Frances Trollope, 1837); The Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens, 1837); The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (Edgar Allan Poe, 1838).

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 10/09/2024 -
Tue 10/12/2024
Times:
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Duration:
14 sessions
Location:
Exeter Community Centre (Exeter)
17 St. Davids Hill
Exeter
EX4 3RG
Tutor:
Greta Depledge
Course code:
Q00016877
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £109.20

This course is available for WEA members only until 10 am on Wednesday 3rd July.

British Literature 1980 - 2011 (Part 1)

On this course we will examine the following novels: The Stranger’s Child - Alan Hollinghurst. Last Orders - Graham Swift. A Pale View of Hills - Kazuo Ishiguro Innocence - Penelope Fitzgerald The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps - Michel Faber. These texts will take us inside contemporary British fiction, and earmark those authors who have contributed to the evolution of a distinctive voice in British fiction in the last fifty years, from the years of Thatcher, New Labour to the present. We will explore each writers’ techniques and themes, and how they address the themes of British identity. Discussions will be lively with plenty of opportunities to voice your opinions.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 12/09/2024 -
Fri 22/11/2024
Times:
2:15pm - 4:15pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Friends Meeting House (Sutton)
10 Cedar Road
Sutton
SM2 5DA
Tutor:
Stephen Smith
Course code:
Q00017587
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £100.00