Whatever happened to Adult Education classes?

I also joined the U3A (university of the third age) they are all over the country and all the groups meet in during the day. They will have a group on anything that there is a demand for - from languages, meditation, patchwork, art, line dancing, short mat bowls, walking, , photography, whatever. There is an annual fee about £15-£20, a monthly meeting with a speaker, and groups that meet monthly or more often, where you pay a couple of pounds to cover the hall unless you meet in someone's home.

I think the WEA is about 10 years too late in trying to protect publicly funded adult ed. It true that "you don't know what you've got till its gone" I guess. I remember Youth Clubs suffering a similar quiet death. Remember the days when every comprehensive school had its own youth club with several paid youth workers. But like the over 60s, facilities for teenagers were not considered a priority.
U3As are all independent charities and they as good as their members. At one time I was on the committee of one and used to get a bit hacked off with the majority of members who seemed to think that all this education and entertainment was something that we, the committee, should provide for them. Rather than thinking what they could do to to contribute. Grhmph. But tends to work out a lot cheaper than publicly funded courses of yore because members do the group leading/teaching/convening etc
I was rather impressed with Cambridge U3A brochure which as one might expect was a full of fascinating, but very academic offerings by... guess who.
Happy enough myself as my learning needs are being heavily subsidised by the Welsh Government

And of course the OU was hit by withdrawal of funding by the dear leaders of our country. According to my U3A magazine participation of part timers in OU study has dropped by almost half since 2010.

Costs a fortune now, sadly XX

Yes Harold Wilson would not be pleased. OU was one of the great innovative projects of his time and has been far more successful than anyone dreamed. What a pity that access to gaining a degree in this way has been put out of reach of so many.

Students in need of primary grades opt for basic adult education. Various courses are available in various subjects like English, Maths etc Learn more here :
www.hermods.se/utbildningar-och-tjanster/vuxenutbildning/

AS many have said, it got to expensive for most of us. For people of our generation, the U3A is the best alternative.

I don't understand Swedish, ritajoshi222 ! So not a very useful link for most gransnetters. ?

If you view it in Google it will offer to translate, and does it perfectly.

And they do a course on basic Swedish especially for you. Never know when it might come in handy.

Seems like an ad for Hermods, and I'm unlikely to go to Sweden !

Hermods ??? don't you stick them up your -

No, Pompa, they are those green precious stones that cost a nabob's fortune.

Now I know why Mrs P didn't talk to me after her birthday