Burgess Hill

A Warm Welcome to Our Burgess Hill u3a

Come and join our group of local people who live in Burgess Hill and the surrounding areas. If you are retired or nearing retirement, you could open up a whole new world of learning and socialising by joining Burgess Hill U3A. The only qualification needed is life experience! We meet in both small and larger groups to enjoy those activities we never had time for when we were working or had a family to look after.

Aims of Burgess Hill u3a

To provide a framework where lives can be enriched through learning from each other, finding fresh interests and making new friends.

How the u3a Works

We are primarily a self-help organisation and we learn from each other in an informal and friendly way. Meetings are mainly held in the daytime with a few in the evening. Smaller groups meet in members’ homes whilst larger groups meet in various halls in Burgess Hill, Wivelsfield Green and Hassocks. There is a small charge of £2.00 per member per meeting for the larger groups to cover the cost of the hall.

Come and Join Us

Everyone who is not in full-time employment is welcome to join us. Our age range is from 50+ to 80+ and beyond! All our groups are run by members for the enjoyment of the members. If you have a skill or an expertise in a particular subject and would be willing to share it, please let us know.

How to Join

Please print and complete the membership form (link above right) and send it with the membership fee to the Membership Secretary.
The contact information for the Membership Secretary is Penny Benstead, Sorrell Cottage, Orchard Way, Burgess Hill RH15 9PD, pennybenstead@gmail.com.

A look back at the past 25 years of Burgess Hill u3a

Brief History of the u3a

The parent body of the u3as is the Third Age Trust, which was developed from an organisation in France.
The French have never enjoyed adult education as offered in the UK, so to meet this need a legislative decree in 1972 directed French Universities to provide learning facilities for older people. This lead to the establishment in Toulouse of the first Université du Troisieme Age (now called the Université Tous Ages).

In 1982, the first u3a in the UK was created in Cambridge, but unlike the French model it was not guided by a university. The UK model for a u3a is far more egalitarian than in France, as our U3As organise themselves and do not use teachers but learn from each other, whatever their backgrounds or experience. There are now over 1,000 U3As in the UK with a combined membership in excess of 400,000.