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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Film & Media: Exploring British Culture Through Cinema

Explore the rich history and cultural significance of British cinema in this comprehensive course. Analyse iconic films, directors, and movements that have shaped the British film industry from its inception to the present day.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 05/11/2024 -
Tue 26/11/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
4 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Andrew Roles
Course code:
Q00016333
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £29.60

Literature: Edward Thomas - Hampshire Poet

Come and join this six-week online course. The course offers the opportunity to study a selection of Edward Thomas’s poetry and the contexts that shaped him and his life. Through reading, analysis and discussion we will explore the poems of Edward Thomas as a Hampshire Poet. We will evaluate Thomas’s position as an important poet of the early 20th century.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 06/11/2024 -
Wed 04/12/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Victoria Ramsay
Course code:
Q00017157
How you'll learn:
Online
Status:
Waiting list
Fee range
Free to £42.00

Film & Media: 5 Films of Haunting & the Supernatural

This which go bump in the night, are some to quick to dismiss anything ghostly or supernatural as ‘horror’? Films which feature haunting and/or the supernatural so often rely on the fear of what might happen, mystery and suspense. As Alfred Hitchcock once said, ‘there is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it’. We examine of this is also true of a good ghostly tale on film, like a thriller keeping the audience wondering what might happen? How do they do this, what techniques do they use? Films such as 1961’s The Innocents are noted as classics of the genre, adapted from a literary source, with memorable shots and scenes it still has the power to unnerve but has some of this been lost as other films copy its template? Ealing’s Dead of Night is now an influential cult classic but an oddball for the studio so noted for its comedy, what does it indicate about immediate post-war Britain? Rosemary’s Baby is now noted as pushing the genre forward into the modern age, from external terrors to fears lurking within society itself, 2001’s The Others attracted a broad audience, with fleeting nods to The Innocents, how did it re-energise the ghost story on film for the 21st Century. Whilst Ghost Story serves as an example of an all too often curio worth seeing for every fan of a ghostly tale. The Innocents (1961), Dead of Night (1945), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Ghost Story (1974), The Others (2001).

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 06/11/2024 -
Wed 04/12/2024
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
George Cromack
Course code:
Q00018215
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Creative Writing: Writing Food

This 10-hour course 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 story craft techniques to embellish your own writing. You will share your writing in pairs to give confidence and courage to write more.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 06/11/2024 -
Wed 04/12/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00019290
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £59.20

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

Creative Writing: Journaling for Writers: Taster Workshop

This course will introduce the learner to accessible and generative journaling exercises to explore their writer’s mindset and process and help them plan and think more deeply through expressive writing about their work in progress. Journaling can help with developing a positive mindset: to keep motivated after rejection; It can also help develop confidence as you free-write and keep up momentum rather than ponder and choose the right word. Journaling can also be used for planning and going deeper into your thoughts and ideas about your current piece of writing.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 07/11/2024 -
Thu 07/11/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00019612
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £11.10

Creative Writing: Developing Characters

Practice techniques for creating short stories, true or untrue. We'll apply the principles of short fiction to our writing, with the focus this term on developing character. There will be writing exercises, discussions, an optional weekly homework task and feedback. Guidance on feedback techniques will be provided. The course content has flexibility, and will be adapted to suit the needs of the group. Suitable for improvers.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 08/11/2024 -
Fri 13/12/2024
Times:
11:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Catherine Humphris
Course code:
Q00009210
How you'll learn:
Online
Status:
Waiting list
Fee range
Free to £44.40

Art Appreciation: Art through the lens of the Anthropocene

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we entered the age of the Anthropocene, where humans become the single most influential species on the planet. Today, discussions on environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity have permeated practically all aspects of our lives, yet the field of art history remains less affected. This course aims to look at well-known artworks from the 19th and 20th century through the lens of the Anthropocene and invites learners to appreciate new ways of linking art with daily life.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 08/11/2024 -
Fri 13/12/2024
Times:
5:00pm - 6:30pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Shijia Yu
Course code:
Q00017295
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £33.30

Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice

Are you interested in creative writing to develop your writing skills and as a tool for well being? Whether you want to write memoirs, a novel, stories or poetry or for personal development come along and join the day. In this friendly day school we will explore creative writing as therapy, for well being and developing writing skills, imagination and confidence and look at different ways of writing about life experience, memory, incidents and details that illustrate a narrative and how the use of imagination leads to the development of many forms of writing, such as stories, poems, and memoirs.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 09/11/2024 -
Sat 09/11/2024
Times:
10:00am - 3:30pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Stella Stocker
Course code:
Q00009815
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £20.35

Art Appreciation: Constable's Landscapes

This course will explore the work of English landscape painter John Constable and his commitment to depicting his surrounding landscapes. This course will consider the way he devoted his career to the establishment of landscape painting as an important genre in the early 19th century. This course is for learners who have an interest in this period of Art and have engaged in some previous studies of Art. The course material will cover significant locations in Constable's landscape paintings; his native Stour Valley as well as Hampstead Heath and Salisbury. Examples of paintings will be discussed and analysed, considering the context in which they were produced.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 13/11/2024 -
Wed 11/12/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Rachel Holland-Hargreaves
Course code:
Q00018447
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Creative Writing: Show and Tell: Taster Workshop

This workshop will re-examine the golden rule in creative writing “Show don’t tell.” With published extracts from a variety of genres, both fiction and creative non- fiction, you will see what is meant by effective showing. How emotions, thoughts, reactions are described rather than explained to make the story so much more engaging. You’ll learn how to apply this to your work with great effect. Rather than ‘don’t tell’ you’ll learn where telling and summary are essential for pace and plot. This course is intended for those who have some experience of creative writing.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 13/11/2024 -
Wed 13/11/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00019618
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £11.10