Ravenshead is a large village and civil parish in the Gedling district of Nottinghamshire. It borders Papplewick, Newstead Abbey and Blidworth, and is part of Nottinghamshire's Hidden Valleys area.
So Who are We and What do We Do?
Ravenshead U3A is run by Members for Members and everyone is encouraged to play their part.
Established in 2012, we are a local charity organisation (number 1154123) in Ravenshead village in Nottinghamshire that caters for active people from all walks of life - mostly no longer in full time employment. There is no age limit so if you have any spare time, do think about joining us.
Our prime purpose is to encourage lifetime learning and participation in informal, fun, enjoyable activities and interests across a wide range of topics, pursuits and pastimes.
You will meet people who want to learn new things, keep active, share interests, enjoy socialising and making friends. Whilst it serves Ravenshead village and surrounding districts, anyone in the local area can join.
The "u3a" Movement
The "u3a" Movement has it's origins in the UK as an educational charity movement, facilitated by members for other members, specifically catering for the needs of “older” people, and dates back to the early 1980's.
The first local u3a organisation was formed in the UK by a group of academics in Cambridge, yet we are far removed from being academic.
Today there are over 1000 u3as across the UK.
Interest Groups
At the heart of our u3a are over 40 Activity and Interest Groups, coordinated by volunteer Group Leaders who organise activities, meetings and outings for their group members, who share the same passion for a particular subject area or activity.
Dependent upon the group, meetings and activities are held monthly, twice monthly and even weekly. There are nearly 40 individual interest groups, which meet monthly in ‘The Centre’ at St Peter’s, the Ravenshead Village Hall or individual member’s homes. Some groups also meet on Zoom.
What Groups do we have?
Subjects are varied and range from physical activities such as walking, hiking and table tennis, practical activities such as craft and knitting, and some more traditional subjects such as Science and Technology and languages including Latin.
If you see a gap in our subject areas, and can offer us your time and expertise, just ask our Groups Coordinator how you can help to fill it. We gather interest, try out, and create new Groups on an ongoing basis, and support anyone willing to start a group for a new subject or activity.
See the GROUPS page for details:
Trips, Visits and Holidays
A big favourite with our members are the many organised day trips to places of interest within a couple of hours drive of the village, using Ravenshead Community Transport’s yellow mini coaches.
We try to cater for varying tastes and budgets, and almost always incorporate an educational or historical element, but most of all try to create a sociable and fun time together for all of our trippers.
Monthly Meetings
MONTHLY MEETINGS ARE HELD AT 10.00 a.m. ON THE SECOND TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH AT ST. PETER'S CHURCH.
People interested in learning more about the U3A movement are welcome to attend.
For our members and first-time guests we hold monthly talks with invited speakers, on a variety of stimulating topics, preceded by a round-up of news from our u3a Groups, details of our upcoming trips, and a coffee break for socialising prior to the keynote speaker.
Events (meetings, outings, and other events.)
See the EVENTS page for details of upcoming meetings and Trips:
Interested?
Then contact the Membership Secretary, Sue Warner for more information. Use the button below to go to the Membership page. There you can find the New Member Application form to complete and other details. Thanks!