WEA Westleton Branch

The Workers' Educational Association is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1112775) and in Scotland (number SC039239) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 28069 10).

W.E.A

The Workers Educational Association is the UK's largest provider of adult education in the voluntary sector. It was founded in 1903 in order to support the educational needs of working men and women who could not afford access to further or higher education. As the state provision of education grew so the function of the WEA changed. It now runs over 10,000 courses each year and reaches over 80,000 adults of all ages and educational back-grounds.

Courses fall into three main categories:

Community Involvement These courses are for people who want to develop their skills and knowledge in order to play a fuller role in their community. The most common courses are in crafts and creative arts, computer skills, health, family learning and courses for people involved in running clubs, societies and trade union branches.

Cultural Studies Courses for people who want to learn more in order to increase their understanding of particular subjects and share ideas with others. The most popular broad subject areas are art, history, literature and science.

Second Chance to Learn Thousands of people have joined WEA courses as a first step back into education through courses in literacy, numeracy, computer skills and study skills.

The Westleton Branch comes under Cultural Studies. It is a strong branch and meets at Westleton Village Hall, usually on Thursday afternoons. Because the Branch is well supported it is able to offer a wide range of courses to meet the varied interests of the membership. In recent years courses of six weeks in length have been offered on Beethoven, Philosophy of Religion, Cinema and History, French Cinema, A History of Crime and Criminal Justice in Suffolk, The Medieval House, Coastal Landscapes of East Anglia. Day-schools are an important feature of the Branch programme and several are offered each year between September and June ranging over a very wide field - The Sutton Hoo Treasure, The Lost City of Dunwich, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The History of Jazz, The Geology of Westleton Common -to name but a few.

Branch Officers:

Chairman - David Blencowe, 'phone 01728 648566 email...blencowe@gmail.com

Secretary - Kate Greenwood, ‘phone 01986 784606 e-mail…rodandkate2000@gmail.com

Treasurer - Alan Hargreaves, ‘phone 01728 648175 e-mail…pamandal@waitrose.com

Anyone who might be interested in joining the Branch and wishing to learn more about our activities should contact any of these officers.