WEA courses

The emergence of abstract art in the early 20th century was a revolution. When looking into its very beginnings the names of Kandinsky, Malevich, and Mondrian come to mind. But in the 1980s, the world discovered the abstract paintings made by a Swedish artist, as early as 1907. Should her many abstract paintings encourage us to rewrite the history of abstract art, or can her work and experiments be seen as marginal because of her intense spiritualism? Why did her works come to our attention so late? This is a thought-provoking case, and a great story!

Join me in a course open to absolute beginners right through to those who have a little experience in the fascinating subject of floral aromatherapy. This course will inform you of a wide range of floral oils, where they grow, what they are good for and a little history of each oil. Comprehensive notes will be provided on Canvas for you to download and refer to. This course encourages individuals to share and discuss your aromatherapy journey. My aim is for you to incorporate oils into your everyday life. You may have your own oils that you can bring to the session, you may want to purchase the range of oils prior to the course but this is not mandatory.

This dynamic and interactive course explores the rich traditions of African drumming, focusing on rhythm, technique, and cultural significance. Participants will learn the fundamental drumming patterns, hand techniques, and group coordination skills necessary to play traditional African rhythms. The course encourages self-expression, teamwork, and musicality while fostering an appreciation for African musical heritage.

This beginner-friendly course helps you overcome fears of drawing and painting while building confidence and foundational skills. Starting with basic drawing techniques, you’ll develop observation and mark-making skills before exploring painting through the colour wheel. Sessions cover primary, secondary, and tertiary colours, creating browns, warm and cool palettes, complementary colours, and tints, shades, and tones. By the end of the course, you will recall, apply, and evaluate various techniques, creating independent artwork with confidence. With supportive guidance, this course provides a welcoming environment to experiment and embark on your creative journey, no matter your prior experience.

The ESOL Skills in Action 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 using their newly learned ESOL skills, by letting them put them into practice in a safe environment. It focuses on giving the learners the opportunity to use their speaking and listening skills to engage with the tutor and their classmates, celebrate their own achievements in completing their previous course and stretch themselves to engage in a class activity. The course should help to build the learner’s confidence so that they feel comfortable enough to use these new ESOL skills in their day to day lives.

This course views painting produced in the twenty-first century. The course will include developments of figurative and abstract painting. There will be views of artists already prominent in the twentieth century and newly emerging artists from a wide range of attentions. From those born in the 1930s to those born in the 1980s. The course will attend to direct visual experience of reproduction of the works involved linked to elements of comprehension and understanding through a considerable range of exciting encounters and engagements. This course will put an emphasis on developments of figurative and abstract painting in the twenty-first century. There will be views of artists already prominent in the twentieth century and newly emerging artists from a wide range of attentions. From those born in the 1930's to those born in the 1980's.

In this course we will build on the equivalent of two terms of part-time study of French where students have already learned to share greetings, personal information, made restaurant and café orders, can seek directions and talk about the weather. There will be some revision of the existing skills and knowledge and build on this to use a range of verbs in the present tense have wide application in French. The course will be online with plenty of lively interaction in full group and in small break-out groups

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.

This course is funded by West Midlands Combined Authority.

Gaudí’s works in Catalonia are world-famous. Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and the Park Güell come to mind as two favourite spots. In this session, you will learn about the life of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1862-1926) and discover his main creations. We will study the well-known works, but also lesser-known ones, such as Casa Vincens and “El Capricho”. This will be a session filled with bright colours and exuberant shapes, as well as with interesting history as we connect Gaudí’s unique style to its cultural context.