WEA courses

Advance your printing skills with our Advanced-Autumn Printing course. Learn sophisticated printing techniques and create detailed, autumn-themed artworks. Ideal for individuals with some printing experience looking to refine their skills.

Discover for the first time, or re-visit an old favourite, this course will introduce you to a wide range of artworks from the national collection of Tate Britain in London. We explore specific works by historical, modern and contemporary artists in relation to wider cultural and social contexts. The aim of the course is to develop confidence and visual literacy skills when looking at and discussing art in London’s galleries. On this course, we examine work by prominent artists as diverse as Anthony Van Dyck, Joan Carlile, William Blake, JMW Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites, Gwen John, Mona Hatoum and Mike Kelly.

Come and join an enthusiastic group of creative crafters who, along with an experienced tutor will strive to unlock their creativity in this hands-on craft course. On this course you will be guided to see your scraps differently and see the craft potential of things you would normally throw away. Whatever paper-craft you are into each session of this course aims to unleash your creativity as you repurpose materials from your stash into pockets, embellishments, handmade cards, and ephemera pieces. For this course you will need minimal supplies and a full list will be available on Canvas but to get started it would be helpful to have some of the following: Assorted paper – plain and patterned and coloured cardstock Scissors Glue sticks, wet glue, adhesive tape. Old books / magazines Buttons, ribbons beads, die cut shapes.

Enhance your music-making skills with our Music Making: Intermediate at Rhubarb Farm course. Learn advanced techniques for playing and composing music in a collaborative setting. Ideal for musicians looking to refine their abilities and explore new musical styles.

This course is for women attending WHIST only. Enjoy the thrill and satisfaction of working in a creative environment and boost your self-confidence with this exciting stage management class. Discover more about Musical Theatre, develop your design and practical skills making stage props; have a go at working as part of a team to discuss ideas, themes and overcome challenges. Taking place in venue, for women attending WHIST, South Tyneside. This course will boost your confidence in the stage management process as well as your knowledge of Musical Theatre. Our fun, experienced tutor will encourage and guide you throughout the course. Meet like-minded women at this supportive environment. Suitable for beginners and those with some experience.

The Thames, its bridges, embankments, and the monuments standing alongside it, are world-renowned symbols of London. Over the centuries, artists have represented the river from many different viewpoints, for all sorts of occasions, and in a variety of artistic styles. From De Jongh and Canaletto to Turner and Monet, the Thames has been represented many. As we retrace their steps, we will study the sights and events they depicted. From the Thames Estuary to Cookham, we will see sights of mayoral processions, regattas, busy tugboats and Thames barge, highlight the river’s many functions. As we study these works of art – some well-known and other rarely ever seen – we will discuss the river's artistic and historical significance.

See images and hear about the history of three of Cleethorpes’ entertainment venues. The Empire Theatre is now an amusement arcade, so does anything of its former life exist today? The Coliseum Cinema building is now a Wetherspoons public house on Cleethorpes High Street, but what was its history prior to this? The Theatre Royal is sadly an eyesore and the site is awaiting further development, but what was this site used for before and after its theatre days? Join us on an adventure through time and discover local treasures from a bygone age. Suitable for anyone with a little curiosity.

This course will explore how to produce poems which rhyme. In the twentieth century, particularly post-war, vers libre and syllabic verse have proliferated, yet poets persist in writing rhymed and rhythmical poetry. During these five weeks, we will examine how modern poets deploy rhyme and integrate it into the rhythms of ordinary speech and a demotic vocabulary. Each session will be a workshop, which examines and puts into practice your own experiments in rhyme, allowing you to develop first drafts and then finished versions of at least three new poems. The workshops will be mutually supportive at all times, supportive and inspirational.

People often say that their dog or cat knows something or has learnt something or is aware of people’s emotions or intentions. So people attribute some kind of conscious thought to other species. Scientists also increasingly attribute consciousness to non-human animals – octopuses for example. Are we justified in this or are these unjustified projections of human qualities onto other species ? and what do we mean by consciousness ? This course introduces students to different meanings of 'consciousness', with the help of influential philosophical theories and evidence form science, and to enable them to evaluate to what extent (non-human) animals are conscious.

This course will explore some of the classics of American Literature. You will study a range of poetry and prose by writers both ancient and modern, including Moby Dick by Herman Melville, My Ántonia by Willa Cather and other works by Maya Angelou and Cormac McCarthy. You will also explore how American Literature relates to other art forms, including film, photography and music.