Testimonials from 2026
Testimonial 1 – Carol - Spanish
I think we were all nervous when we first gathered for our first Spanish session at Chichester. Thoughts of being embarrassed, not knowing enough, of saying everything incorrectly. But tutor Sandra put us all at ease – from that first sounding out of vowels and consonants, the ooos and the os, the ths and the bs – we were clucking and chirping and trying to disentangle our tongues from our teeth, or attempting that growly Spanish rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
During the three days we learned numbers, telling the time, and the present tense of simple and useful verbs. Among other exercises, we enacted ordering in a café (with a lot of beer, red wine and ice cream – in my little group at least!) and we guided each other through a map (not necessarily by the easiest route!) We followed a day in the life of the (ever-smiling!) Marta, and wandered through a tourist paper trail of Seville. We even turned to nature through a treasure hunt out in the park to extend our vocabulary – we failed to find any worms or ants – but walked over the grass (cesped) noted the trees (arboles), one with a nest (nido) for the birds (parajas). And there we were, a couple of dozen words added to our vocabularies in a most enjoyable way.
And that was the theme of the whole course – to learn, to listen, to speak, to have fun - and Sandra led us through it all, with superb notes and worksheets, and her own recollections and humour to guide us along the way. Time well spent. Gracias, maestra!
Carol - Reigate and Redhill u3a - 2026
Testimonial 2 – David - AI
I was at the SE Summer School last week and just wanted to say thank you to yourself and all the staff who did such a brilliant job on the catering.
The range, quality and quantity was exceptional and was perfectly complemented by your friendly, helpful and always smiling team. Nothing was too much trouble for them - you all did a fantastic job.
The only problem is that my trousers don’t fit so well around the waist now!
Thanks again
David – Orpington u3a - 2026
Testimonial 3 – Helen - Linguistics
I hope this email site is still open, as I very much want to say thank you to all the Team who made our U3A Summer School at Chichester University earlier this month so enjoyable and rewarding.
The organisation, the courses, the tutors, the timetables, the information you provided for us, the catering, the theatre trip - all were phenomenal.
Special thanks to Linda, who as well as making us feel welcome, managed to keep us all on the straight and narrow and (mostly) in the right place at the right time.
I very much hope that all those on the Summer School Team spent a subsequent week lying on a Caribbean beach being waited on hand and foot - because you certainly deserved it!
Yours gratefully,
Helen – Ashtead u3a (Surrey) - 2026
Testimonial 4 – David - AI
‘Old School’
I don’t mean old school in the traditional sense – this is, in fact, a Summer School for old blokes and blokesses! This was my second time at the SE U3A jolly, and it was even better than last year. I don’t think attending twice actually qualifies me as being a frequent flyer, but I was a trifle disappointed not to find any Green Shield Stamps under my pillow. I’m saving up for an electric can opener and am still a few books short.
The big surprise, though, was that Linda – a very nice lady who spends most of the year as part of the team organising the event – invited me this year to pitch up and help with the registration process. To be honest, I suspect Linda had me marked out as trouble in 2025 and wanted to keep an eye on me. This may well have been because the only tattoo visible amongst the many guests was on my arm. Obviously, she had me down as a probable geriatric hooligan. I deliberately didn’t mention the new one I’ve had inked recently. Her big job for me was to stand out in the road by the entrance and direct people to the main car park.
My suspicion that this was a ruse to keep me out of the way was reinforced when I found myself standing directly in front of a huge sign with very clear directions to ‘The Main Car Park’.
Whilst I was occupied out in the road, Linda was sorting out everything and everyone – with considerable efficiency. Linda has incredible energy and dedication and is always making sure everything works. She makes the Duracell Bunny look like an asthmatic ant carrying some heavy shopping. A simile shamelessly plagiarised from Blackadder Goes Forth.
But what about the four days, you may ask?
Or not – frankly, I don’t much care. I’m going to tell you how much fun it was anyway.
I’d signed up for the AI course – imagine my surprise when I discovered this wasn’t a study of major trunk roads in the UK. It turns out AI is something to do with computers and intelligence, neither of which are in my skill set. I’m more Bill Sykes than Bill Gates. However, the course was brilliant, as was our tutor, Glenys, and we learned an awful lot in between laughing and eating. More of that later. Much more, as it turned out. The learning curve from knowing absolutely nothing to achieving a small degree of competence was massive, and I can now produce original pictures, music and realistic photographs, plan holidays and flights and, apparently, get recipes simply by listing what I have in my fridge. Good luck with that! I can also do open-heart surgery and predict the jackpot lottery numbers. Obviously, I made those last two up – although, with the way things are changing so rapidly, you never know.
Nevertheless, I did manage to make a Pixar-style picture from a selfie. This turned out to be extremely flattering and now features prominently on my dating app profiles. No doubt any unsuspecting lady is going to be incredibly disappointed when she swipes right!
What else?
Well, I had a very comfortable room with an en-suite shower, a comfortable bed and plenty of cupboard space. There was also a kettle, tea and coffee, plus a chair and desk. I had three very pleasant nights. It was quiet and peaceful. The room was next to what appeared to be a fully equipped kitchen. I live on my own, so obviously I didn’t have much use for this. Not with a pub down the road. I’d like to tell you that the accommodation was a major improvement compared with my student days. Unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to go to university, so I have no idea.
But I can tell you that I have stayed in hotels that weren’t as comfortable.
You want to know about the food – of course
See what I did there? Food was plentiful, good quality and offered a huge range of options at every meal. Breakfast included cooked options, cereals, yoghurt, fresh fruit, croissants, pastries and toast – enough to ensure that nobody was in danger of wasting away before the morning session. Lunch offered two hot dishes as well as a full salad bar, followed by a choice of desserts, premium ice cream and fresh fruit. Dinner consisted of two different hot meal choices plus, inevitably, more desserts. Soft drinks and water were always available. In between sessions there was tea, coffee and biscuits. The only downside is that I am now several pounds heavier than I was last week. A word also for all the kitchen staff, cooks and servers. Without exception, they were always friendly, helpful and smiling.
There were welcoming drinks on Monday and farewell drinks on Wednesday.
Concerned that I could not be entirely trusted in the vicinity of free alcohol, Linda placed me outside the bar as the resident bouncer. To be fair, not many of the U3A members looked as though they were likely to cause much trouble, and I wasn’t expecting to be required to break up any gang violence. I’m no Jack Reacher, but equally I’m not saying I didn’t fancy my chances against a bunch of octogenarian gangsters.
Entertainment on Monday was a quiz night. I joined a lovely group who were sensible enough to ignore most of the contributions I attempted to make. I’m not kidding – I didn’t even get the Manchester United question right. On Tuesday we were in the theatre on campus for a showing of the recent film ‘Mother’s Pride’, a British feel-good film from earlier this year. I enjoyed it a lot and, judging by the laughter around me, so did everyone else. Wednesday night featured a Churchill talk. However, I was involved in a discussion in the restaurant after dinner and missed it.
I wasn’t too worried. I already have car insurance. It would also be remiss of me not to mention the free car parking and charging points available – especially as I was a sort of car park monitor on the first day, along with another helper, a lovely lady called Lesley.
All of the above, plus the 11 course sessions, cost less than £400. Probably not cheaper than staying at home – but not far off it, and a hell of a lot more fun. I also met friends from last year and had the opportunity to see what the other groups were doing and to talk to several of the tutors. I haven’t mentioned the names of all the friends I saw from last year, or the ones I made this week. There are so many and, at my age, I can’t remember all the names – so I tend to overuse ‘dear’ and ‘mate’ far too frequently. Anyway, you know who you are!
I will definitely be booking again for 2027, always assuming I haven’t joined the ‘Choir Invisible’.
I haven’t found many benefits in getting old, but a Freedom Pass and the Summer School are two of them. A third is that Linda kindly reminds me when the course details and bookings become available. On the off chance you’re still reading this nonsense, I strongly recommend that you think about going next year.
Seriously, though, none of us are getting any younger and if you’re looking for interesting courses, excellent food and the opportunity to meet some very nice people (not including me, obviously), then I can definitely recommend the South East u3a Forum Summer School.
And if you are still here – thanks for reading.
David – Orpington u3a - 2026
Testimonials from 2025
Testimonial 1 – David – Opera
What I did on my Holidays?
My kids think that I’m regressing to my teenage years which is rubbish since I can’t remember what I had for breakfast most days let alone stuff that happened over six decades ago.
They are shocked that in August I went to a Rock Festival in a camper van – well not in the van obviously, the festival was in Cornwall.
Then at the beginning of this month I was at the u3a South East Summer School at Chichester University.
The Rock Festival was good, the camper van less so, to be honest, these days I have to get up several times a night and fields are dark, wet and cold!
The Summer School was brilliant!
I can’t remember how I found out about it, no surprise there, but I signed up on line and managed to secure a place.
As far as I’m aware I was the only one from Orpington U3a and at first the other delegates (which is what they called us) seemed slightly wary of me – possibly as I was the only one in the some two hundred there who sported a visible tattoo.
They relaxed when I explained that nearly everyone in our u3a group had tattoos…even some of the men.
It was a 4-day residential course and I was a little nervous as I didn’t know anyone who was going – I really needn’t have worried, everyone was very friendly and I never once found myself sitting alone.
The cost was £400 and this included –
- Accommodation, all meals, parking, 15 hours of tuition, evening entertainment, welcome drinks and farewell drinks
Pretty good value, I think.
The rooms were obviously for students, but surprisingly better than you might imagine – spacious with a bed (as you’d expect), desk, tea and coffee making and a wardrobe and chest of drawers.
There was an ensuite shower wet room and toiletries were supplied.
The meals were excellent –
Breakfast – cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries, full English plus vegetarian options. Tea, coffee, milk and fruit juice
Morning – tea and biscuits
Lunch was soup, rolls, salad, choice of several hot dishes and a selection of desserts
Afternoon – tea and cake
Evening meal – similar to lunch but with different hot dishes – again including vegetarian options.
Every table had bottles of still and sparkling water
Portions were plentiful and no problem if you could manage a second serving, one went hungry.
Evening entertainment
Monday – there was a quiz, I entered alone and a table of ladies grabbed me, not like that unfortunately, to be on their team – presumably assuming I could help on stuff like sport. This proved not to be the case and we came last.
Tuesday was a screening of ‘Conclave’ on the big screen – well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it yet.
Wednesday - an interesting book talk by an author, Beyond Beliefs by Sohail Husain.
There were a number of courses available including Roman History, several European languages, Opera, Mai Jong, Philosophy and Latin.
I had chosen Opera and the tutor was very good and made every session interesting.
Delegates attended from u3a groups all over the South East including Brighton, Dorking, Southampton and Chichester and Orpington, obviously.
I would 100% recommend the summer school – the next one is September 2026 – details come out in March and bookings in April…but you have to be quick as, not surprisingly, places fill rapidly – it’s not quite like Glastonbury or Oasis, but, as I’m told, not far behind.
I will certainly be going in 2026, assuming I haven’t joined the choir invisible, and I’m happy to car share with anyone who’s interested.
Thanks for reading!
David - Orpington u3a - 2025
Testimonial 2 – Hazel – Opera Tutor
Aspects of Summer School
I felt, as a tutor, that we were very well prepared in the tutor briefing and lunch.
En-suite room - I enjoyed room 105 in Amberley - the size of the room and the bathroom were great.
Dining - the food was delicious; the range of choices was amazing - it seemed like every possible option and preference was covered. I would like to compliment both the chef/catering staff on that. I would also compliment the other staff - they were so very friendly, accommodating and helpful. The Manager would pop out from time to time and ask if everything was okay - which was impressive. Because there were lots of healthy options available, I must have chosen fairly wisely, as I found I had not gained any weight when I returned home! Also - the queue system works - having two separate queues for food and for the coffee stations worked well.
The general camaraderie of both my own group and of other groups was wonderful. I found out that some people had been coming for several years and treated it as a staple every year, in their summer calendar. I like that there are a range of places to "hang-out", even when the weather isn't so good. The show at Chichester Festival Theatre - although it does not count as "summer school" it was a terrific show, and we got a real bargain in those tickets.
The teaching room - 101. I found that the group members made themselves very comfortable. We decided on what lighting we wanted, some wanted a window open, certain blinds pulled to see the screen better, etc. I liked having a double long table so I could spread out the copies of notes to give them. And at the final session I had "prizes", and there was room for them, too.
The group gave me a card signed by them all, and lovely flowers. It was a wonderful sign of their appreciation and I was touched.
Ryan - he was fantastic. I felt I could rely on him when I needed help at first. He was prompt, efficient, and explained clearly. So, I then went on to manage on my own and felt very comfortable. I feel he is a very valuable person to have on hand. Thank you, Ryan. And Chris, who gave me an idea for my playlists for the future...
Without being at all patronising, I feel that the Tutor Liaison (Linda) did an amazing job - I feel that every i was dotted and every t crossed to make the whole summer school run on greased wheels, especially seeing to it that the tutors were looked after to the nth degree. Thank you, Linda.
Thank you
Hazel – Brighton & Hove u3a - 2025
Testimonials from 2023
Testimonial 1 – Hilary – Intermediate French
Hilary wrote following article for her home u3a newsletter – Harborough Welland.
Do you remember that very hot week we had, early in September? Wasn't it lovely?
I remember it very well because I was at a u3a summer school at University of Chichester.
The summer school was organised by the South East u3a Forum, but I saw it advertised in our national magazine: Third Age Matters.
I chose to do a course on French at an Intermediate level. For three days the 11 of us in that group spoke to each other, in pairs or threes, mostly in French. We played games, did a crossword, watched podcasts, visited websites, discovered the origins of odd phrases. For example, why is it not rude to say "Merde*" to someone, to wish them good luck?
We were all much of a muchness in our abilities. Someone from another group at the summer school (more about other groups later) asked me what level of French the course was at. I said "O level plus a year", but someone else from the group overheard me and said "Oh no, it is more like first year university level". Whatever, we all stayed the course and ended up smiling. Our teacher was very gentle, sympathetic and funny!
At the summer school were several other courses, such as yoga, mathematics, fun fizzics, cycling, ukulele, walking, poetry. The cyclists and the walkers did amazingly well to complete their rides and walks in those temperatures!
Perhaps they were sustained by the excellent food we had. Three cooked meals a day and all with plenty of options and self-service, so you could just have the right amount of just what you fancied. There was a free drinks reception on two of the three evenings, too.
Of course, we were staying in student single rooms, which were adequate, but not luxurious. But they were all on the same campus and very handy, so no long walks for meals or activities.
The evening entertainments were also excellent: speakers or the film "Where the Crawdads Sing".
I would heartily recommend attending a South East u3a Forum’s summer school at Chichester. I learned a lot, met many lovely people from many u3a's who did different things, and ate very well!
Thank you for the summer school. I loved it!
Hilary - Harborough Welland u3a
*In the 19th century, if a play was a great success, the theatre would have lots of horse-drawn carriages queuing outside to drop their passengers for the theatre. The queueing horses also dropped a lot of manure. So, wishing someone lots of "merde" was wishing them success.
Testimonial 2 – Gelhi – Creative Writing
Seeing your email address so long after the event made me think of the amount of work that goes into the organisation of these Summer Schools. It just made me feel like saying how much I enjoy them and how grateful I am to all the organisers who give so much of your time for our enjoyment.
I tried Creative Writing this time – an easy option after a couple of years of maths.
The whole event is a really good way to spend a few days, with lasting memories a happy bonus.
Roll on next year!
Gelhi – Dorking u3a
Testimonial 3 – Lis – Demystifying Mathematics
Just to say what a great occasion and thanks to all involved.
Lis – West Oxford u3a
Testimonial 4 – Andrew – French Intermediate
Tuesday evening waiting for the talk on Tangmere Airfield to start, Mrs Jones is sitting next to me, ‘I’m with the Dorking u3a’ she says.
‘How about that’ I reply, ‘I was born and brought up in Dorking’.
‘I actually live just outside Dorking in Newdigate ‘, She adds.
‘Even more extraordinary. We moved there in the early 1980’s – we lived in Peartree Cottage’.
‘Well, I live in Spring Cottage – I was your next-door neighbour. Wasn’t it Harry and Mary Morgan?’
What a small world. This is how extraordinary conversations begin here at the SE u3a Forum Summer School.
We were blessed with beautiful weather at The University of Chichester’s campus, Monday 4th – Thursday 8th September. Plenty on offer for the 150 attendees, from archaeology to yoga – something to suit almost everybody. I was in the French group among 10 ladies from all over the country with Susanne as our truly lovely tutor. Nous avons bavardé,
discuté, lis, écouté, regardé, traduit en fait nous avons passé de très , très bon moment
c’était top!
The accommodation was in the student flats which were fine for three nights (though my mattress was far from comfortable) and meals in the campus restaurant. I was particularly pleased to find delicious pain au chocolat for breakfast. Generally, I thought the catering was very good.
After dinner each evening we had some entertainment. A quiz on Monday – our table (8) were middle ranking but thanks to Beryl her table were the champions winning a packet of chocolate fingers. Tuesday was the excellent talk on Tangmere with a film as an alternative if you didn’t fancy the talk. On Wednesday Jane Glennie, who specialises in theatrical talks, presented ‘Violet’s Titanic Escape’ about how Violet Jessop a ship’s stewardess survived the sinking of the Titanic and then the sinking of her sister ship Britannic. It was totally enthralling, I have never known an hour fly by so quickly.
All in in all it was a fabulous 4 days not only for the courses but for all the different people that you meet.
Finally, an enormous thank you everyone involved in organising it. I know that many, many hours of hard work went into it.
Andrew – Meopham u3a