U3A Frankston

U3A Frankston is a place of learning which was established in 1985 and now has 300 members and provides 30 courses of study on a range of topics from classrooms located behind the Chisholm Institute which is close to the Frankston Railway Station and bus terminals.

All of us during our working lives have put things off saying "When I retire I am going to……."

U3A Frankston is the place where you can catch up on these deferred wishes, it encourages you to do the things you would have liked to do in the past but didn’t have the time or opportunity. Such things as; learning a language, study Australian history, understand computers, learn to paint, sing in a choir etc, etc. Although called University of the Third Age there are no qualifications required nor given.

U3A Frankston brings together people who although now out of the workforce are still active and don’t have idle hands attached to idle minds .An aged bricklayer may learn the basics of Law from a retired Professor while he in turn can learns to build a brick barbeque. The learning process is centred on volunteer members who have a specific skill and are willing to pass it on to other members who want to learn that skill.

U3A Frankston is also a social place where you meet like minded people of your own age and share common interests and ideas. It is a group where you can make new friends and widen your interests There is a great reserve of knowledge and experience to be found in older people so if you are able you should not sit at home alone but seek the social contact of other senior members of the Frankston community and enjoy their companionship while at the same time expanding your knowledge and skills. Visit the office or follow the contact us links above to start your journey today.

Universities of the Third Age

The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international organization, embodying the principles of life-long education and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, in an atmosphere of mutual learning and teaching. Each U3A is a learning community, organized by and for people who can best be described as being active in retirement - the so-called Third Age of their lives.

The term University is used in the original and medieval sense of an association or community of teachers and scholars, united in the pursuit of knowledge. Third Age refers to the life period of active retirement, which follows the first age of childhood and formal education and the second age of working life, and which precedes the fourth age of dependence.

Origin of the Universities of the Third Age

The concept of U3A was developed in Toulouse in 1972, to bring older people into contact with academic programmes at the University. It spread rapidly through France and throughout Europe. Many universities either arranged for older people to participate in existing academic programmes or established new programmes specifically designed for Third Age students.

The first British U3A was established in 1982 at Cambridge. In contrast with the French experience, where U3A have a close association with traditional universities, as providers of educational programmes, the British U3A have developed only outreach links with the universities.

Instead, they have embraced principles of self-help and self-determination, structuring programmes and courses to meet the wishes of members and drawing on resources available within the membership as far as possible. These same principles have been adopted by U3A in Australia.

Development in Australia

In July 1984, a public meeting was arranged in Melbourne to gauge public interest in U3A. As a result the first U3A was established in Melbourne City, followed by another in Hawthorn and the first courses were offered at the beginning of 1985.

During that year two other U3A, one at Monash and one at Ringwood, were inaugurated. There are now some 80 U3A in Victoria with some 18,000 members and more than 100 Australia-wide with a total national membership exceeding 40,000.

Whilst there are common objectives shared by all U3A, there are also broad differences of interest patterns, structure and organization, determined by the particular needs of each U3A and the resources available locally to meet those needs.