Bedale & District u3a was founded in April 2009. We are a registered charity (number 1182934). Our Annual General Meeting is held in April each year.
We are a voluntary group, run entirely by members for members. The ethos of the u3a movement is member-led learning. u3a members draw upon their knowledge and experience to teach and learn from each other for pleasure. We are not a service organisation.
Membership is offered to those who are no longer in full-time employment or raising a family, where there is the opportunity to share skills and undertake learning for its own sake. There is no minimum age for membership.
Terms and Conditions of Membership:
All members must:
- Abide by the Principles of the u3a movement
- Always act in the best interests of the U3A and never do anything to bring the U3A into disrepute
- Abide by the terms and conditions of the constitution
- Treat fellow members with respect and courtesy at all times
- Comply with and support the decisions of the elected committee
- Advise the committee of any change in their personal details
- Abide by the Member Code of Conduct
Bedale & District u3a is affiliated to Yorkshire and Humber Region u3a and Northumbria Region Network. Other information about us, including our policies can be found in the links below.
Links to Policies and Forms
The wider u3a movement was founded in 1982 and the UK u3a movement's aims are:
- To learn together and teach each other
- To offer wide and varied activities and contacts
- To widen our knowledge, experiences, skills, activities, social contacts and friendships
- To develop self-confidence, raise self-esteem, improve health, enhance the quality of life and to aid others to do the same.
- To enable the learning of something new and to help realise a dream or ambition.
- And most importantly to enjoy the experience.
From the start, the guiding principles were to promote lifelong non-formal learning through self-help interest groups covering a wide range of topics and activities as chosen by their members. Our founders envisaged a collaborative approach with peers learning from each other. The u3a movement was to be self-funded, with members not working towards qualifications but learning purely for pleasure. There would be no distinction between the learners and the teachers – everyone could take a turn at being both if they wished.
View the national u3a website via u3a