About Us
MERTON UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE
MERTON U3A has been enriching the lives of retired citizens of Merton for over 23 years now. It was one of the first of these novel educational groups to be set up in the country, and it rapidly grew to 300 members and hopes to reach more people than that in due course.
The original founders of U3A, after setting up "The Open University" and "Which", realised that there would be a growing number of retired people whose lives could be enhanced immeasurably by further education - and they could run it themselves to great advantage. Each participant would be able to bring the experience and skills of a lifetime to both instructing and learning from their colleagues. All that was needed was some sort of organisation that could bring them together.
The original U3A was linked to a French University, but the British version (first tried out in Cambridge) was totally independent. It became very popular and soon spread throughout the country - there are now over 550.
The fundamental unit in the U3A is the "study group", which can be as small as 2 and as large as perhaps 30, but is more often around 8 so as to fit economically into a room in someone's home. By avoiding paying for accommodation or tutors it has been possible to keep the costs very low - annual membership in Merton is £10, though some classes need extra subsidy for materials etc..
To some extent U3A has taken on the role that Local Authority "Evening Classes" used to perform, but it is more suited to its retired membership because it operates mostly in the daytime, and classes are usually informal and more diverse in character.
As public subsidy for "continuing adult education" is now restricted to vocational training (which U3A members do not need) the new organisation is taking over. But it is attracting many other people as well because it tackles any subject that its members want, and it is in fact quite difficult to think of anything it doesn't do! As each U3A has a separate charitable status (Merton U3A is educational charity No 291074) and is entirely voluntary and self-supporting, it attracts a lot of individual support, particularly for occasional events such as talks and visits.
Merton U3A held a celebratory 21st Birthday Open Day in 2005 in which the many groups displayed or exhibited their subject, and the Mayor of Merton and local MP Stephen Hammond were among the visitors. It is interesting to note that one of the original co-founders of the organisation is a Merton resident, Dianne Norton, now enjoying a second retirement - from U3A affairs!
Merton is keen to welcome new members, particularly those that wish to widen the pool of skills and experience that members benefit from at present. It also has a constant need for larger rooms to accommodate the groups, particularly in the outlying parts of the borough.
U3A stands for "University of the Third Age". "University" is used here in the original sense of "a gathering for the pleasure of learning" and "Third Age" means the age of retirement following "childhood" and "work and family" when there is freedom to follow favourite interests and start new ones.
