About Us

• Members form Interest Groups and create events which are intellectually stimulating, creative, physically beneficial and/or just good fun.
• We communicate by email. Events and activities are advertised and you book on-line.
• Drop-in Information Sessions are held at Heswall Hall between 10:00 and 11:45 on the morning of the second Monday each month, excluding August and December. Here you can find out about starting new groups and check on group vacancies.
• On the morning of the fourth Monday each month, excluding August and December, there is a Speaker Meeting with time to chat to other Members before and after the Speaker. Very nominal charges apply. Information on Speaker Meetings is shown on the Events page and is also emailed out to members.
• Some people join simply to become involved in one specific Interest Group, some join to come along to the monthly Speaker Meetings and some join to become involved in numerous groups and events.
• Remember the ethos is self-help, to start a group you don’t need to be an expert, just have a genuine interest in the subject and want to meet others with a similar interest.

There are many ways that we keep in touch with each other:

Third Age Matters matters: A magazine produced by the Third Age Trust five times a year with lots of interesting articles and other information.

Regular newsletters: A regular newsletter emailed to our members with up to date information on activities as well as articles contributed by our members, with a copy available at our second Monday “drop-in” meetings to members for whom we don’t hold an email address.

Our website is a useful reference and contains information on upcoming speaker meetings and a selection of pictures taken by our members during their group activities. Speaker events are shown on the Events page.

Emails: Group Leaders and Trustees use emails to keep members informed of upcoming events and last minute changes.

Monthly Member Meetings: These are a great opportunity to meet face to face and learn about upcoming events and interest groups.

Heswall u3a runs its own self-funded affairs through the voluntary efforts of its members and according to its constitution.

The mantra of any u3a is “by the members for the members”.

Although we may join a u3a in order to learn a new skill or to enjoy meeting new people, we join a movement where we are all volunteers with something to contribute – that is the u3a movement’s greatest strength.

Heswall u3a is a totally volunteer organisation. It relies on members volunteering to populate the Management Committee, Sub-Committees, Groups and Activities Leaders.

Visit our “Contacts” page where you find contact email addresses for relevant Management Committee members.
If you don’t have email, write to Heswall u3a, PO Box 230, Wirral, CH31 9FB.

Come along to a monthly meeting at Heswall Hall on the second Monday of the month, but not in August & December, and enquire. Please arrive between 10:00 and 11:00 when someone will be available to talk you through the enrolment process. Please email our Membership Secretary on heswallu3a.memsec@icloud.com if you have questions. The Membership Secretary can also make alternative arrangements if you are unable to get to a monthly meeting.

New members can join for £15, covering membership until April 2025. For existing members our subscription year is April to March and the subscription for the 2024-25 period is £15.

When joining you will be asked to complete a membership form. You’ll also be asked if you are willing to sign a Gift Aid form. This allows us to reclaim 25% of your subscription from HMRC and helps keep annual subscriptions down.

There are over 1000 local u3a groups in the UK, all financially and operationally independent of each other and each is a separate individually registered charity.

All local u3a groups are members of the Third Age Trust, our national support and advisory body. The movement is built on principles of mutual aid and self-help. Membership of one u3a does not give the right to attend others as each is a separate entity.

Adherence to the guiding principles of the u3a movement is required. More information on the Third Age Trust can be found at https://www.u3a.org.uk/

As a member a copy of the national Third Age Matters magazine will drop through your door 5 times a year. This provides information about what is going on in other u3a groups and information relevant to its readers.

It used to be called the University of the Third Age; however, the only University it resembles is “The University of Life” of which we are all students. The word “university” is used in its original sense of people coming together to share and pursue learning in all its forms. Third Age: – that stage of life past childhood and full-time work.

In 2020 we were rebranded by the Third Age Trust to simply u3a and our town/area name.

You are welcome to join Heswall u3a if you live close enough to fully participate. There are several other local u3a groups in the area which can be found via https://u3asites.org.uk/deeside-wirral/home