Richmond Community - University of the Third Age

The Third Age: a time of creativity and fulfilment for older people.

The Third Age refers to the period of time after the First Age of childhood dependence and the Second Age of full-time employment and parental responsibility. One in four of the UK population is in the Third Age.

What is the university of the third age?

It is a learning cooperative of older people which enables members to share many educational, creative and leisure activities. A U3A is a university in the original sense of the word: a collective of people devoted to learning.

Anyone in the Third Age can join U3A – all you need are interests and enthusiasm! It is called a university, but it has members not students. No qualifications are required and none are given.

The U3As are democratic, self-funded, self-managed organisations which exist to provide daytime education and leisure activities for men and women, no longer in full time employment, at minimal cost. They draw upon the knowledge, experience and skills of their members to organise study and activity groups in accordance with the wishes of the membership. Between them the U3As offer 300 subjects in such diverse fields as: art, foreign languages, music, history, life sciences, literature, poetry, theatre-going, philosophy, world faiths, crafts, field studies, archaeology, bird-watching and computing.

The Richmond U3A

We hold a monthly meeting at 9.45am on the last Tuesday of the month at the Methodist Church Hall, Dundas Street, featuring visiting speakers on a variety of subjects.

U3A membership offers new challenges, new opportunities and new friends – why not give it a try!

House Groups

Art Appreciation - A small group, meeting once a month. We usually study the life and work of a particular artist, using videos and DVDs. We occasionally visit local galleries and exhibitions.
Book Club - A very popular group, meeting once a month on a Monday afternoon to share thoughts and opinions about a selected book.
French - Two groups - Beginners meeting twice monthly and Intermediates meeting weekly to enjoy conversation.
German - Two groups meeting alternate weeks. Beginners group using “Wilkommen” as a basis and an Intermediate group. Both groups having a conversational and informal approach, sometimes organising visits to Germany.
Gardening - A small friendly group enjoying monthly visits to local gardens of interest (in fair weather!) New members welcome.
History - We meet once a month to study various periods of interest utilising a themed approach. We enjoy occasional visits to local and more distant places of interest.
Oral History - A popular group sharing personal and family history using a topical approach - 2^nd World War, Schooldays, etc.
Music - Meeting once a month to enjoy the Host’s programme: sometimes a particular composer, sometimes featuring a particular instrument or style of composition. Possibility of visits to concerts.
Mah Jong - A light-hearted beginners group, led by a member who learned to play in Hong Kong.
Play Reading - Meets one afternoon a month to enjoy reading a complete play, chosen from a variety of authors from Coward to Ibsen and Mortimer to Storey.
Poetry - We meet once a month on a Wednesday evening to share individually chosen favourite poems: classical, modern or humorous.
Poetry Study - An afternoon meeting of a small group which studies the life and work of a particular poet, chosen by the host. All styles of poetry included!
Luncheon Club - In a local restaurant after the monthly meeting. A very popular event.

For more information see our Newsletter (obtainable from Richmond Library) email or telephone Margo Wilcocks 01748 825129

The Third Age Trust www.u3a.org.uk

There are currently more than 560 U3As in the UK with over 145,000 individual members. The Trust is the national representative body for the U3A movement in the UK (Reg Charity No 288007) and provides a range of support services to the U3As.