Workers Educational Association (WEA) York Branch

• Workers Educational Association (WEA) York Branch; 1903-present

The Workers Educational Association or WEA was established in 1903, and there was branch in York from at least 1912. From 1912 to c1920 the WEA held meetings and classes at the St Mary's Educational Settlement. However, during the interwar years the relationship between the two institutions was an uneasy one. The WEA was suspicious of the Educational Settlement due to it's financial reliance on the Rowntree family, which it believed prevented the settlement from running on genuinely democratic lines. The Settlement was also considered 'bourgeois', 'middle class' 'capitalist' and 'reactionary' by the WEA. In 1921, they began to hold meetings at the Co-operative Society Hall on Railway Street, although WEA classes continued to be held at the St Mary's Settlement.
Connected to the Educational Settlement at St Mary's and the York Community Settlement Players.
See Also - York Settlement Community Players
See Also - York Educational Settlement

The WEA was set up as an assocation of individuals and organizations interested in adult education. The York branch worked in co-operation with Leeds University, the Ministry of Education, and the local Education Authority. It also had a representative on the Council which goverened the York Educational Settlement (est. 1909).
It's primary objective was to 'satisfy the demand of workers for education', which it achieived by providing classes in a variety of subjects and publishing literature. The classes covered a variety of subjects, although they were required to be of a non-vocational character. The defining characteristic of all the classes the WEA provided was an equal relationship between students and tutors. The students also had the opportunity to be involved in the organization and administration of adult education itself.

The Workers Educational Association or WEA was established in 1903, and there was branch in York from at least 1912. From 1912 to c1920 the WEA held meetings and classes at the St Mary's Educational Settlement. However, during the interwar years the relationship between the two institutions was an uneasy one. The WEA was suspicious of the Educational Settlement due to it's financial reliance on the Rowntree family, which it believed prevented the settlement from running on genuinely democratic lines. The Settlement was also considered 'bourgeois', 'middle class' 'capitalist' and 'reactionary' by the WEA. In 1921, they began to hold meetings at the Co-operative Society Hall on Railway Street, although WEA classes continued to be held at the St Mary's Settlement.

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa

www.wea.org.uk
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust: A Study in Quaker Philanthropy and Adult Education 1904-1954 - Mark Freeman (2004) William Sessions Ltd.
York Directories.