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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Literature: Much Ado about Shakespeare: Henry IV Part 1

If you find Shakespeare daunting and wonder what all the fuss is about, or if you are a devotee who wants to share and deepen your enjoyment of his work this course is for you. An opportunity to look in some depth at one intriguing play, Henry IV Part 1, by reading, discussing and watching extracts of performances. The play brings together full range of Shakespeare’s mature style, introducing the famous Falstaff, with high- and low-life equally represented. Among the themes are fathers and sons, duty and pleasure, morality in war, government and rebellion, all as applicable now as ever.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 04/10/2024 -
Fri 13/12/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Nottingham Mechanics (Nottingham)
3 North Sherwood Street
Nottingham
NG1 4EZ
Tutor:
Hazel Salisbury
Course code:
Q00016278
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
8 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £84.00

Art Appreciation: Victorian Art - Town and Country

The Victorian years saw unprecedented industrialisation which changed the face of Britain but also attitudes. Industrial developments were perceived as both positive and negative, but the countryside was viewed as a tradition, community and continuity. Yet images of the country, as well as the town, reveal the complexity of a society adapting to the modern world. Depiction of idyllic country scenes and grimy urban life reveal deep tension in Victorian society. This course will reveal that complexity and the contradictions which characterised the years 1837 to 1901 by examining paintings, engravings, photographs cartoons and the literature of the period.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 04/10/2024 -
Fri 13/12/2024
Times:
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Grimsby Central Hall & Arts Community Ce
Duncombe Street
Grimsby
DN32 7EG
Tutor:
Tim Stimson
Course code:
Q00017916
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £84.00

Art Appreciation: Klimt - Landscapes, Portraits and Decoration

This course will explore aspects of the work of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 05/10/2024 -
Sat 16/11/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Rachel Holland-Hargreaves
Course code:
Q00010232
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Creative Writing: Advanced Creative Writing and Journaling for Wellbeing

Do you love writing and want to write for money and/or because it floats your boat and makes you happy? Then join like-minded writers in advancing your skills at memoir and fiction, poetic lyrics and drama for stage and screen. Writing can be done from home, though not in a vacuum and this is the perfect opportunity to bounce ideas around, gain insights and try things out.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 05/10/2024 -
Sat 14/12/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Sarah Wardle
Course code:
Q00017026
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00

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:
£15

Art Appreciation: Isolation, artists and paintings

Isolation includes solitude (choosing to be alone for contemplative or other good reasons) and social isolation (real or psychological separation from others, which can result in loneliness). Some artists need solitude to explore the world around them or to remove external pressures. Others use their work to express feelings of loneliness, whether from societal causes, unrequited love, illness, or other circumstances. Our speaker, Roger Wotton, will discuss a range of paintings that express, for example, the solitude found in nature, or the loneliness in urban living. He will consider, too, the most common example of isolation shown in art: the Crucifixion of Christ.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Mon 21/10/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
Friends Meeting House (Berkhamsted)
289 High Street
Berkhamsted
HP4 1AJ
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00017711
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
4 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £30.00

Creative Writing: Body Stories

This friendly creative writing course 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 meditation (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:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 26/11/2024
Times:
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00017037
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £59.20

Art Appreciation: The Dutch Golden Age - Art History

We shall discuss the tidal waves of history which enabled the Low Countries to become the driving force in trade, exploration and also painting at this time. This course will educate and entertain those with an interest in the life and work of three of the greatest artists of their age and probably of all time – Pieter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 22/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
St Mary's Church Annex (Wargrave)
Mill Green
Station Road
Wargrave
RG10 8EU
Tutor:
Kate Phillips
Course code:
Q00017299
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £25.20

Art Appreciation: Women’s Images of War: Official and Unofficial

In order to redress the balance of the narrative, each week this course covers different women artists depicting aspects of war set within the historical context. There will be a bias towards British artists, but not exclusively. You will look at artworks that these artists produced before, during, and after a war and these artworks will be in different mediums from pencil to oil and encompass print mediums too.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 22/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
Scout & Guide HQ (Hatfield Peverel)
Church Road
Hatfield Peverel
CM3 2LB
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00019085
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £25.20

Art Appreciation: Art Appreciation: Art in Churches

The Church has historically been a major patron of the arts, and all major artists have works in church buildings around Europe. From Saxon wall paintings and lavish medieval alter pieces, to contemporary installations in Cathedrals, this course looks at the variety of art commissioned by the Church, from the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Victorian church textiles. We discuss where good examples can be seen in this country, including stained glass and sculpture. The way in which art in Churches has reflected the major art history developments is at the core of this course.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 10/10/2024 -
Thu 10/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 3:30pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
St Lawrence Parish Rooms (Winchester)
Colebrook Street
Winchester
SO23 9LH
Tutor:
David Brindley
Course code:
Q00016858
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £23.10

History: Art History in 100 Paintings (c.25,000 to 1900)

This course aims to enable you to make sense of art works you might encounter in a gallery. You will fit 100 paintings- or two-dimensional pieces- into a time line of historical events, places, styles and paradigms. Using art appreciation skills from the first session , you will examine works in a virtual tour of a major gallery that come from another time and place. The course will enable you to create your own personal ‘Gallery of 100 paintings.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 14/10/2024 -
Mon 11/11/2024
Times:
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Jubilee Hall Loddon (Loddon)
George Lane
Loddon
NR14 6NB
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00019037
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £42.00