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Our languages and culture courses span the length and breadth of England and Scotland, with the option to study online or in person at a time that suits you. Whether you’re looking to learn a new language and immerse yourself in another country, or you simply wish to indulge in your love and fascination of film, we have the course for you. 

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Our creative writing courses will nourish your inner writer, providing you with a platform to develop your love of poetry, non-fiction or script development. If literature courses are more your kind of thing, then you’re in luck too, as there are a wide range of topics to choose from.  

Literary greats and great periods in history

Our language courses offer you the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in a completely new culture, developing your skills so that you can speak confidently in countries right across the world. German, Italian and Greek are just a few examples of the language courses we have to offer, with many others taking place throughout the year.  

As you’d expect, literary greats such as Agatha Christie and Shakespeare feature regularly. There’s also the option to examine other time periods in English literature too, helping you develop your critical reading and analysis skills - perfect whether you’re a beginner or more experienced in the subject.  

If you prefer history then you’ve got a choice too, from courses on subjects you’d expect such as the first world war, or art history and studying the works of iconic painters such as Salvador Dali. 

Support and guidance

Whatever course you choose, you'll learn in a supportive environment where the class sizes are small, ensuring you get the attention you deserve, with an experienced and qualified tutor on-hand to guide you through your learning too.  

A lot of our cultural learning is delivered by our branch network: learn more here.

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Literature: Chinese Avant Garde Literature

This course examines a variety of avant-garde short stories by modern and contemporary Chinese writers. Each session will be spent producing a close analysis of individual stories and excerpts from longer fiction, debating different interpretations and understandings of the set texts,

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 05/11/2024 -
Tue 19/11/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
URC (Danbury)
Little Baddow Road
Danbury
CM3 4NS
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00018513
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £25.20

Creative Writing: Scriptwriting for Film, TV & Radio

Ever wondered just where to start with a script for film, T.V and/or radio - each have their own format and require a differing approach . We take a friendly and accessible step by step guide through the requirements of writing for the big screen, the small screen and the ear. Writing for each of these mediums differs from that of a stage play, we may’ve heard the phrase ‘show don’t tell’ but how do we put that into practice and how does a writing creating compelling radio drama using only sound . We’ll discover there’s far more to these forms of script writing than just people talking.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 05/11/2024 -
Tue 03/12/2024
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
George Cromack
Course code:
Q00019069
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Creative Writing: How to write successful Butterfly Moments - writing memoir moments

Learn how to capture memorable moments in your writing with our Creative Writing: How to Write Successful Butterfly Moments - Writing Memoir Moments course. Focus on techniques for writing impactful and engaging memoirs. Ideal for aspiring writers and memoir enthusiasts.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 05/11/2024 -
Tue 10/12/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Vanwy Arif
Course code:
Q00018538
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £44.40

Film & Media: Exploring British Culture Through Cinema

Explore the rich history and cultural significance of British cinema in this comprehensive course. Analyse iconic films, directors, and movements that have shaped the British film industry from its inception to the present day.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 05/11/2024 -
Tue 26/11/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
4 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Andrew Roles
Course code:
Q00016333
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £29.60

аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ö±²¥ Membership

For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
  • Access an archive of over 100 past lectures,
  • Get priority online and phone booking for autumn courses (England only),
  • Receive our Highway magazine and access back issues,
  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

Just add us to your basket to sign up today!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
£15

Literature: Edward Thomas - Hampshire Poet

Come and join this six-week online course. The course offers the opportunity to study a selection of Edward Thomas’s poetry and the contexts that shaped him and his life. Through reading, analysis and discussion we will explore the poems of Edward Thomas as a Hampshire Poet. We will evaluate Thomas’s position as an important poet of the early 20th century.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 06/11/2024 -
Wed 04/12/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Victoria Ramsay
Course code:
Q00017157
How you'll learn:
Online
Status:
Waiting list
Fee range
Free to £42.00

Film & Media: 5 Films of Haunting & the Supernatural

This which go bump in the night, are some to quick to dismiss anything ghostly or supernatural as ‘horror’? Films which feature haunting and/or the supernatural so often rely on the fear of what might happen, mystery and suspense. As Alfred Hitchcock once said, ‘there is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it’. We examine of this is also true of a good ghostly tale on film, like a thriller keeping the audience wondering what might happen? How do they do this, what techniques do they use? Films such as 1961’s The Innocents are noted as classics of the genre, adapted from a literary source, with memorable shots and scenes it still has the power to unnerve but has some of this been lost as other films copy its template? Ealing’s Dead of Night is now an influential cult classic but an oddball for the studio so noted for its comedy, what does it indicate about immediate post-war Britain? Rosemary’s Baby is now noted as pushing the genre forward into the modern age, from external terrors to fears lurking within society itself, 2001’s The Others attracted a broad audience, with fleeting nods to The Innocents, how did it re-energise the ghost story on film for the 21st Century. Whilst Ghost Story serves as an example of an all too often curio worth seeing for every fan of a ghostly tale. The Innocents (1961), Dead of Night (1945), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Ghost Story (1974), The Others (2001).

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 06/11/2024 -
Wed 04/12/2024
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
George Cromack
Course code:
Q00018215
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Creative Writing: Writing Food

This 10-hour course will stimulate your imagination and palette for writing food stories from fiction, life writing and reportage. You will read published stories to provide inspiration and story craft techniques to embellish your own writing. You will share your writing in pairs to give confidence and courage to write more.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 06/11/2024 -
Wed 04/12/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00019290
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £59.20

Art Appreciation: The Art of Diplomacy: Behind the Doors of the Government Art Collection

Go behind the scenes of the Government Art Collection, a less well-known national art collection, with Chantal Condron, a former curator at the Collection. Discover the fascinating origins of its history, and the people and events that have shaped its past. Explore how and why artworks are acquired or commissioned and discover some of the locations where they have been displayed. We explore works across a range of media from paintings to film, by artists from the 16th to the 21st centuries, including Marcus Gheerhaerts the Younger, Thomas Phillips, Bridget Riley, Michael Armitage and recent Turner Prize winner, Jesse Darling.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 07/11/2024 -
Thu 05/12/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Enfield Baptist Church (Enfield) (Enfiel
Cecil Road
Enfield
EN2 6TG
Tutor:
Chantal Condron
Course code:
Q00017288
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
2 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £60.00

Creative Writing: Scriptwriting for Film, TV & Radio

Show don’t tell – so often easier said than done – Just how does an idea turn into a script? How much info do I include in a script? Is it really more than just dialogue? In some ways writing a script requires a very different approach from the writer. We gain knowledge and understanding of the differing requirements of writing for the screen, both what works for TV and what approach is more cinematic, as well as writing for the radio. Radio, so often described as the ‘intimate’ medium, plays in a listener’s head offering scope for greater imagination and powerful emotional effect. We will also explore the creative process, just what is the correct format for each of these mediums, where to start, how to develop an idea into a script, allowing it to grow scene by scene (what even is ‘a scene’). The course will also cover writing/developing a TV series, comedy, writing for ‘soaps’ and feature some more general skills on developing story structure and character development of interest to any budding writer. With a mix of group and individual tasks, discussion, analysis of clips as examples, it is hoped that all will dabble and develop some writing whilst on the course. What makes a good script and what is a bad script? This is an informative and fun course, with some key first hand information, not to be missed.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 07/11/2024 -
Thu 05/12/2024
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Stephen Joseph Theatre (Scarborough)
Westborough
Scarborough
YO11 1JW
Tutor:
George Cromack
Course code:
Q00018219
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
6 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £42.00

Creative Writing: Journaling for Writers: Taster Workshop

This course will introduce the learner to accessible and generative journaling exercises to explore their writer’s mindset and process and help them plan and think more deeply through expressive writing about their work in progress. Journaling can help with developing a positive mindset: to keep motivated after rejection; It can also help develop confidence as you free-write and keep up momentum rather than ponder and choose the right word. Journaling can also be used for planning and going deeper into your thoughts and ideas about your current piece of writing.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 07/11/2024 -
Thu 07/11/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00019612
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £11.10