The University of the Third Age, U3A, is an organisation offering all kinds of educational, creative and leisure activities to anyone who is no longer in full-time, gainful employment. Members organise their own activities and use their skill and knowledge to form self-help groups. Retired people of any age may join. No qualifications are required and none are awarded.
The seeds for 'Lifelong Learning for Older People' were sown at the Summer School of the Université du Troisième Age held in Toulouse in 1972. This led within a year to the formation of the 'International Association of U3As' (AIUTA). The movement soon became worldwide. In the UK, the U3A started with the creation of the 'Third Age Trust' in 1982 as a registered charity and limited company.
In the UK it was decided during early discussions to adopt an approach that was independent of the Universities. It was realised that Third Agers themselves had the skills to organise and teach in their own autonomous learning groups, the local U3As. The principle was to be not "they teach us" but "we teach one another". In Europe and America development has been more dependent on the universities.
There are now some 640 U3A's throughout the United Kingdom with a total membership about 180,000. Each local U3A develops its own character in response to local needs and resources. Because a U3A is in effect a co-operative and has no campus of its own, fees are low.
For more information on the history of the U3A visit the Third Age Trust Web Site.
For links to other U3A web sites in the UK and world wide visit Harrow U3A's Web Site Links Page.
Old Basing & District U3A was started in 1998. There are now over 400 members.
To see the list of our current range of study groups and activities click here. If your particular interest is not covered, why not investigate the possibility of starting your own group. With over 400 members looking for new challenges, you have every chance. It is not always necessary to be able to "teach"; you and your group can explore and develop your subject together.
We have a general meeting each month at The Elizabeth Hall, Hook (2nd Wednesday, 2pm). We use this occasion to update the membership on group activities and matters of general interest and usually have an external guest speaker to entertain us.
If you have any further questions you can contact us by email at