South East u3a Forum
Summer School 2025 @ The University of Chichester
Despite the waves of showers during the 4 days of Summer School, it didn’t dampen the members enthusiasm as they had waterproofs and brollies at the ready – no wellies needed. Although this was the best summer school for this team to date, with exceptional numbers and positive feedback in the main - it wasn’t all plain sailing before the start.
We had to cancel the Poetry course due to the tutor’s health issues, but fortunately nothing that couldn’t be mended, so we hope to see Ann next year, fingers crossed! The remaining 12 tutors ‘stepped up to the plate’ in true u3a fashion and accepted 1 or 2 extra members into their group, with those who were only attending for the Australian poetry leaving us this year, but hoping for a positive outcome for next year.
Mentioning the other 12 subjects, who had a full compliment of members on their respective courses.
Again, we had a mix of returners and new subjects on offer:
- Returners – Latin; Mahjong; Mathematics; Patchwork and Philosophy
- New – AI; Italian; Memory, Perception and Thinking; Opera, Roman History and Yoga
- Gapped Returner – Walking from 2023
The 6 new subjects got to grips with the campus, moving between the academic block, restaurant and accommodation very quickly and the ‘old’ hands just carried on from where they left off last year. A great deal of praise and thanks were expressed in the feedback, so an enormous thanks to the tutors for all the time given in preparation and then delivery of their course, also the support given to their course members, as and when needed.
The evening entertainment was again ‘kicked off’ on the Monday evening with a Quiz, which was very well attended indeed, the opportunity for members and tutors alike to just mix and start to get to know each other. There were two options on Tuesday, the film ‘Conclave’ on campus and a visit to the Festival Theatre for the musical ‘Top Hat’ – this production was very well attended with over 100 members opting for this choice. The film was enjoyed by those who attended it. Wednesday as usual, a speaker in The ShowRoom on campus. This year it was Sohail Hussain, a polished speaker whose talk entitled ‘Beyond Beliefs’ was an informative and thought-provoking memoir, which invoked a range of discussion afterwards and was enjoyed by a large audience.
High praise for the university staff who did their absolute best to make the summer school a success for us, with grateful thanks to everyone in the Accommodation Office for caring and resolving the members problems where possible. From the tutors a ‘well done’ to Ryan for keeping the tech running smoothly, so they could deliver their courses – not an easy job! Well, what can we say about Otters Restaurant – the ‘food experience’ – from the ratings you gave, they achieved an overall 97%, absolutely brilliant – well done the Restaurant team.
Obviously, improvements can always be made in all areas, nothing is perfect nor will it ever be, but your feedback has been scrutinised; your comments noted at the summer school evaluation meeting in October. The major points were discussed and we will see what is practicable to implement for next year.
The intermittent sunshine, with fluffy white clouds in a blue sky, helped to put a daily ‘shine’ on a very successful summer school. Thank you to all who helped to make it a memorable one – the u3a members who were an enthusiastic ‘bunch’, the university staff who made things happen, with super food – no washing up in sight – and the tireless team who gave so much to make it happen again.
The End - (just for this year!!) We hope see you all in 2026.
David, Richard, Kevin, Sue, Martin & Linda
The South East u3a Forum’s Summer School Team 2025
South East u3a Forum 2026
The Summer School information for 2026 will resume its normal layout on this page in January 2026, so the Team would like to wish all u3a members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The South East u3a Forum’s Summer School Team 2026
Page updated - 23rd Oct 2025