August 11, 2023

What Is U3A And Is It For You?

Nick Everything Else health, retirement 8 Comments

Updated 23 June 2024

As regular PAS readers will know, I recently joined U3A, a non-profit organization offering a range of leisure activities for retired and semi-retired people. I thought I would set out my experiences and impressions here for anyone who may be interested in joining U3A themselves, either now or in the future.

But first, here’s a bit more info about the organization itself…

What Is U3A?

The University of the Third Age (U3A for short) is an international organization providing educational and social opportunities for retired and semi-retired people, typically aged 50 and above.

The primary goal of U3A is to encourage lifelong learning, personal development, and social engagement among older adults. Unlike traditional universities, U3A doesn’t offer formal degrees or certifications. Instead, it focuses on informal, peer-led learning and skill-sharing.

U3A groups offer a wide range of classes, workshops and activities, covering subjects such as arts, literature, history, science, technology, languages, fitness, and more. These activities are typically organized and led by the members themselves, with individuals who have expertise or interest in a particular field volunteering to share their knowledge with others.

U3A promotes active ageing, mental stimulation and social interaction. It aims to help older people stay engaged, connected, and mentally sharp. It also seeks to foster a sense of community, where members can continue to learn, explore new interests, and make new friends in a supportive and non-competitive environment.

My U3A Experience

I joined the U3A in Lichfield, Staffordshire, early in 2023. I am 67 and (as you may know) semi-retired. I live on my own nowadays and am conscious of the need to stay mentally and physically active as I get older and build new connections and friendships, in real life as well as online 🙂

I am actually now a member of two local U3As. I joined Lichfield originally, but then discovered there was another, smaller U3A in the town where I live (Lichfield is about four miles from me). It’s no problem belonging to two or more U3As and I am by no means alone in this. People generally join one local group first, then sign up to another as an associate at a lower cost. More about this later.

Lichfield U3A – like most others – has a monthly general meeting where there is usually a guest speaker. Every U3A also has a wide range of smaller groups devoted to interests from music appreciation to rambling. These typically meet monthly or fortnightly.

The first general meeting I went to was on the subject of Schooldays Remembered. It was an icy cold day and I was impressed by the number of people who turned up at the meeting hall. I would say the average age was about 70, with women outnumbering men by about two to one. The female presenter was very professional and showed us a series of slides depicting (primary) school days in the mid-20th century. Up to a point I enjoyed it, but I had some reservations, e.g. when the speaker encouraged us all to join in a chorus of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. Considering that many U3A members are from professional backgrounds, including teachers, lawyers and medics, I did find the overall tone a bit patronizing. The speaker revealed that she also ran sessions in care homes and I couldn’t help feeling I was getting a preview of what may be in store for me in the future 😮

Afterwards we went for tea and biscuits. I got chatting with another new member, who I found shared my reservations. He told me he didn’t much enjoy his schooldays and didn’t especially want to remember them! As for me, I have only fragmentary recollections of primary school days. I remember my secondary school days a lot better – not with any great affection, but they weren’t awful either. Personally I would have preferred a more grown-up presentation about education and how it has changed over the decades. I don’t want to be too critical, though. Most people there seemed to enjoy the session, and it did have its entertaining aspects.

I have since been to a couple of other meetings which I enjoyed more. There was a particularly interesting one about the history of travel firm Thomas Cook & Sons. The speaker gave a very informative talk, including slides showing ads for early trips and excursions organized by the company (these were also available to browse afterwards).

• As a side thought, there appears to be a circle of professional guest speakers who offer talks to groups on a wide range of subjects, for which they are paid a fee. Not a bad sideline to supplement your pension, I’d have thought! My friend Sally Jenkins – who does this herself – wrote an interesting guest post for PAS about making money from public speaking.

Beside the monthly meetings, I have also taken part in a quiz which was good fun (my team won – no particular thanks to me – so I took a bottle of wine home). I have also joined several interest groups. These include one for short walks (around 3-4 miles, quite sufficient for me). This has been good for getting some fresh air and exercise and meeting and chatting to other U3A members. The walks are all fairly local. One unexpected benefit has been discovering some beautiful locations I was unaware of, despite living in the area for over 20 years.

I also joined a play-reading group. This meets once a month in a local theatre, with members each taking a part to read. Currently we are reading Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime by Oscar Wilde (the stage adaptation). I was quite active in amateur theatre in my 20s and 30s, so it has been good fun getting back into this again.

I also joined a science and technology group. I’ve only been to one meeting so far, but this was a very interesting session about global weather patterns.

What Else Is On Offer?

Obviously I have only scratched the surface personally. There are dozens of other interest groups available. I have listed a selection below.

• art appreciation
• birdwatching
• croquet
• history
• philosophy
• photography
• music appreciation
• guitar playing
• Mah-jongg
• needlecraft
• psychology
• gardening
• architecture

There are also quite a few reading groups. This is a very popular activity, so multiple groups are needed to keep the numbers at a meeting manageable. I haven’t joined one only because I am already a member of a local book club (nothing to do with U3A).

In addition, there are various one-off activities. I’ve already mentioned quizzes. Visits to local places of interest are also popular, as are concert and theatre trips.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is a money blog, I should say a word about this.

I was actually surprised how inexpensive U3A is. I paid an annual membership fee of just £12 to Lichfield U3A. I also paid £6 to my nearest local U3A to join as an associate member. This gives me access to all groups and activities in both U3As.

Some interest groups do also impose a small charge at meetings. This is no more than a pound or two and covers room hire and/or tea and biscuits. One thing you may find as a U3A member is that you need to carry around a little more small change!

I should also mention that as a U3A member you will receive (at no extra cost) a print magazine titled Third Age Matters. This is published five times a year and contains a range of informative articles about U3A and issues affecting older people generally.

Thoughts And Impressions

It is obviously early days as far as my personal journey with U3A is concerned. But I have been impressed with the range of events and activities on offer. I should maybe add that most take place during the daytime rather than the evening, so you do need to have some time free in the day to benefit from your membership.

U3A is very much run by members, for members. Of course, that is how they keep the costs so low. It does mean that if you find U3A is for you, there is some expectation that you will get involved in helping to organise and run events as well, even if only preparing the tea and biscuits!

As with so much in life, the more you put in to U3A, the more you are likely to get out of it 🙂

If you want to find out more about U3A groups in your area, my recommendation is to search online for U3A plus the name of your nearest town or city. Most local U3As have a website using a standard template and hosting service provided by the national organisation. Here is a link to the site for my local Lichfield U3A, for example. As you will see, the website isn’t exactly cutting edge, but it does the job well enough. Groups often have open days which can be a great way to find out the range of activities on offer. In addition they typically have monthly general meetings, which again can be a good opportunity to learn more and sign up. Failing that, you can always contact the membership secretary of your local U3A group via the website.

I do think it’s a shame there aren’t more opportunities for U3A members to interact online as well as in real life. Ideally it would be nice if there was a members’ message-board, or at least a Facebook page, where members could chat, ask questions, share photos, and so on. But having run an online forum for writers for a number of years, I am under no illusions about how much work this can entail.

On the plus side, there are also some national and regional U3A events, including summer schools. You can find out about these through your local U3A and Third Age Matters.

I hope you have found this article interesting and it has given you some insights into U3A and what it has to offer. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please do leave them below.