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The university with no exams explores a new age of learning
THE University of the Third Age does sound like it could be a wacky cult and it has certainly inspired many thousands of lives since it was established in the UK back in 1983. Its converts call it U3A, and it's an educational organisation for people who are either retired, or semi-retired.
There are 716 local U3As in the UK, each run by volunteers, which draw on the skills and experience of its own members to create interest groups ranging from philosophy and computing, to country dancing and gardening.
While adult education courses have been cut back or axed in recent years, the U3A revolution has been quietly growing and there are now more than 200,000 members nationwide. Its success is proof, if any was really needed, that just because you're retired, it doesn't mean you're over the hill.
Most groups tend to have about 250 members, but Sheffield U3A is the biggest in the country with a membership of some 2,600. It has mushroomed since it was set up back in 1986, and now has 160 interest groups. The U3A has no age limit, or political affiliations and it costs only 7 a year to be a member.
Brian Bezant, 71, is a retired primary school teacher. He joined Sheffield U3A four years ago and is now involved in Latin, walking and discussion groups.
"When my wife and I retired we felt a bit empty, despite the fact that like most people we'd been looking forward to it. Not that we wanted to continue doing our old jobs, but when you retire you suddenly have a lot of time on your hands and the last thing we wanted to do was sit back and do nothing. We hadn't heard of U3A before and then someone mentioned it so we decided to join, It's been one of the best things we've ever done."
Most people find out about U3A by word of mouth. "We sometimes get people asking where the university is, but that's not how it works," he explains. "The groups meet in people's houses and some even meet in pubs. Quite a lot get together in libraries which have been a great help to us in providing rooms free of charge."
Sheffield U3A has 30 different walking groups which cater for everyone from those who enjoy going for a gentle stroll, to the hardcore who like nothing more than a bracing 15-mile hike. Brian believes the U3A is all about exercising your mind
and body.
"The Government is starting to latch on to this because there's lots of research which shows that older people who are more active make fewer demands on the NHS."
Shelagh Woolliscroft, a 62 year-old former city council worker, agrees. "It helps to extend the active period of your life, because when you retire you can get a bit stagnant and our unique selling point is the combination of learning and making new friends. You can learn things through adult education courses, but you tend not to form a group."
Some people might be put off by the word "university", but they shouldn't be. "You don't have to be an academic to belong to the U3A. There are no entry requirements, there's no national curriculum and no exams," says Shelagh. "There was one woman who said she desperately wanted to do
Arabic dancing, so we now have an Arabic dance group," she says.
The beauty of U3A groups is they choose when, where and how often they meet. There is a national U3A body that helps groups to get started, but after that they pay for things out of their own pocket. Not that it costs much, as Shelagh explains. "Last summer, I advertised in our magazine to see if anyone was interested in doing German for beginners and as a result of this I now have 14 people who come every Monday morning and sit in my living room. Myself and another person, who happens to be a former German tutor, teach them German. To get started we needed a flip chart and pens which were paid for, and on top of that everyone pays 50p a week towards refreshments and a supply of paper."
But the U3A is about more than genteel coffee mornings. Last week the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg gave a talk about climate change to a group in Sheffield. "We've also got people from the council coming to talk about what they're doing, we've got someone coming to talk about alternative energy and how to insulate our homes and also how we can all take little steps in making our communities greener."
Peter Barclay is a 77-year-old retired school teacher. He set up a story writing group and is also involved in two others. "A lot of people are keen to join the walking groups simply because their doctor has advised them to lose a bit of weight, or do some exercise. But through that group they might hear about another one and join that."
The group meetings usually involve workshops, field trips and discussions, but it's up to the members how they organise themselves.
"The onus is on the members to make a success of it, which means people become more involved and you end up discovering things you can do that you didn't know about."
Peter says that U3A groups have proved a lifeline for countless men and women who've lost their partners. "People who've been bereaved, or moved to a new area need support and friendship, and that's what you get with U3A."
The U3A attracts people from all kinds of social backgrounds – dentists and doctors, to carpenters and electricians. However, it isn't isn't restricted to the older generation. In Sheffield more than 30 members have signed up to help Year Six pupils (10 and 11-year-olds) who have reading difficulties. Peter was also asked to give a talk about his wartime memories. "Myself and another member went and talked about the Second World War and the kids were enthralled.
"They took notes, and now they're turning it into a drama performance. We feel we have a lot of richness in our lives and if we have this contact with younger people we can help link up the past and the present."
"I've been in the Sheffield U3A more years than I care to admit, but it's tremendous fun and the number of friends I've made is just extraordinary."
For more information about the University of the Third Age, visit www.u3a.org.uk
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