The Origins and Structure of the u3a

The u3a in the UK was started by the creation of the 'Third Age Trust' in 1982 as a registered charity Number 288007, and limited company Number 1759471. Contrary to what was happening in France, there was no support from universities.

The founders had realized that ‘Third Agers’ themselves had the skills to organise and teach in their own autonomous learning groups, so local u3as were formed.

A collaborative approach was adopted with peers learning from each other.

The u3a movement is self-funded on a member subscription basis. Today u3a is a nationwide network of learning groups aimed at encouraging older people to share their knowledge, skills and interests in a friendly environment.

The members of u3a learn for the pleasure of it, no qualifications are required and none are given.

There are now many 100's of u3as in the UK with over 400,000 members.

Each local u3a contributes to the national Third Age Trust which provides corporate governance, The Third Age Trust also gives support in the form of insurance; online learning groups; and subject guidance to the local learning groups.

Each local u3a is autonomous, and cooperation between the groups is supported by a region/nation-based network of collaboration. In Scotland, this collaboration is known as u3a in Scotland.

Principles

Cupar u3a aims to be open to all who seek life-long learning in their third age. Each u3a is operationally independent and follows the guiding principles of the u3a movement. The Vision, Mission and these guiding principles are detailed here on the National u3a website.