WEA courses

If you would like to start writing non-fiction articles, blogs, short pieces or news stories, this course is for you. This practical course gives you a short introduction to journalism and aims to help you to write clear, interesting and balanced reports in news, blog or feature formats. It will also help you to develop the skills to identify and obtain relevant and newsworthy items from written or verbal sources. It will introduce you briefly to some of the legal and ethical considerations faced by journalists.

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).

Develop your skills to draw with confidence in line, tone and form and create art inspired by objects around you.

Develop painting techniques inspired by historical and contemporary abstract artists.

Develop painting skills and colour mixing, inspired by the autumn landscapes around you.

Explore the captivating journey of writing, from ancient petrographs and petroglyphs on rocks to cutting-edge electronic communication systems. This course invites both beginners and those with prior knowledge who share an interest in history and writing. Over six weeks, taught online, engage in presentations and discussions, with convenient access to materials even after each session.

This practical course aims to help you to establish a coaching relationship, initiate productive coaching conversations and to challenge people to identify goals and grow professionally and personally. You would need to coach a colleague or someone else who wishes to be coached, as this is a practical course covering key skills including: questioning, goal-setting collaboratively and encouraging personal and professional growth.

Yoga is a wonderful practice that supports our physical and mental well-being. This course will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of yoga whilst taking a deeper focus on yoga practices that help to keep your back healthy. Most people suffer from back ache or pain at some point in their lives. Practicing yoga is a good strategy to both prevent and manage back ache. You will learn practices that help to relieve tension and improve back strength and flexibility. Yoga is a non-competitive practice for everyone, you will be encouraged to move with care for your own body, adapting practices to meet your individual needs in a supportive learning environment.

Would you like to improve your ability to relax to support your own well-being? This course will focus on supporting you to relieve physical tension in your body. Often, stress can cause physical tension in the body, with practice we can learn to ease this tension through relaxation. We will focus on improving body awareness to improve comfort and mindful movements to release tension. You will learn to ease tension through breath awareness and sound release. All sessions will end with a guided relaxation practice. Everyone can improve their ability to relax, why not give it a try?

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.