Spelling out what U3A stands for

U3A stands for the University of the Third Age, which is a self-help organisation for people no longer in full time employment providing educational, creative and leisure opportunities in a friendly environment.  It consists of local U3As all over the UK, which are charities in their own right and are run entirely by volunteers.

Local U3As are learning cooperatives which draw upon the knowledge, experience and skills of their own members to organise and provide interest groups in accordance with the wishes of the membership.  The teachers learn and the learners teach. Between them U3As offer the chance to study more than 300 different subjects in such fields as art, languages, music, history, life sciences, philosophy, computing, crafts, photography and walking.

A typical U3A has about 250 members but could be as small as 12 and as large as 2,000. 

The U3A approach to learning is – learning for pleasure.  There is no accreditation or validation and there are no assessments or qualifications to be gained.

Mission statement of the Third Age Trust

 The Aims of the Third Age Trust are:

1. To encourage and enable older people no longer in full-time paid employment to help each other to share

their knowledge, skills, interests and experience

2. To demonstrate the benefits and enjoyment to be gained and the new horizons to be discovered

in learning throughout life

3. To celebrate the capabilities and potential of older people and their value to society

4. To make Universities of the Third Age (U3As) accessible to all older people

5. To encourage the establishment of U3As in every part of the country where conditions

are suitable and to support and collaborate with them

The Objectives of the Third Age Trust are to:

 1. Provide national support to the Universities of the Third Age in the UK

2. Provide support and advice to potential new member U3As and seek to start new groups in areas

where the U3A movement is under represented

3. Raise the profile of the movement both nationally and internationally

May 2007

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