What is U3A?
U3A means "University of the Third Age". A U3A is an organisation
offering educational, creative and leisure activities
to older people not in full-time, gainful employment. Members
organise their own activities and use their skills and
knowledge to form self-help groups. No qualifications are required
and none are awarded. A U3A has "members" not "students" but
it is a university in the original sense
of the word: a collective of people devoted to learning.
In UK, U3As are financed from their own members' subscriptions.
What is "Third Age"?
First age refers here to childhood and dependence.
Second age may typically involve a full-time career in employment or a commitment to raising a young family
and the third age refers to that later time in life when we may have less full-time commitments and
more time to pursue particular interests.
Warrington U3A voted to adopt a constitution which sets age 50 as the minimum age for membership.
Origins
The seeds of 'Lifelong Learning for Older People' were sown at a
Summer School of the Université du Troisième Age held in Toulouse
in 1972. The U3A movement soon became worldwide; see, for example, the
'International Association of U3As' (AIUTA) and
Harrow's list of U3As worldwide.
In the UK, unlike in continental Europe and elsewhere, there was not much interest
shown in the idea of U3A by the established universities and other learning institutions.
In 1980 a group
of interested individuals met in Cambridge and decided to try out the principle of
self-help study groups and found that it worked. The founders realised
that third-agers themselves had the skills to organise and teach in their
own autonomous learning groups. The principle adopted was not "they teach us" but rather
"we learn with one another".
In 1982 came the creation of
The Third Age Trust
a registered charity and limited company which is the national representative body
for the U3A movement in the UK.
In other parts of the world, development has been more dependent on
existing centres of learning and the resulting U3A courses have
been integrated into a local academic curriculum with formal exams etc.
The independence from the educational establishment which we have in UK
provides a non-competitive, stress-free environment in which to learn.
At first
AIUTA did not approve of the British 'self-help' model but now accepts it.
UK Regional Organisation
Regional activities are organised annually in which
local groups of U3As meet to share experiences and discuss matters of common interest.
In 2007/8, Warrington U3A organised the regional activities for the north west local group.
Local U3As
According to The Third Age Trust, in 2008 there were over
700 local U3As throughout the United Kingdom with a total membership over 200,000.
Each local U3A is autonomous and develops its own character according to local needs.
Warrington U3A
Warrington U3A was started in 1994 with a ceremony at the Town Hall.
At the end of 2008 we have over 500 members.
In the year 2000, Warrington U3A adopted its present constitution and became a Registered Charity (No. 1085069).
A copy of the Constitution document may be obtained on application to the Registrar.
You can see
our study timetable
and
how to join Warrington U3A elsewhere on this website.
If your particular interest is not covered, why not start your own group.
It is not necessary to be able to "teach". You and your group can explore
and develop your subject together.
