Chester City u3a (formerly known as Cestrian) is a small group of approximately 120 members. It started in 2005 and is centred in Chester. This small size enables new members to find and make friends with others sharing similar interests.

If you live in or near Chester and would like to share your existing interests or explore new ones in a friendly informal atmosphere, a warm welcome awaits you. Membership of a u3a is open to all in their third age, which is defined not by a particular age but by a period in life in which full time employment has ceased.

A monthly newsletter with information about current and forthcoming activities is produced. This, like the monthly general meetings, is covered by our annual subscription of £15

The u3a Movement

u3a stands for the University of the Third Age, which is a self-help organisation for people no longer in full time employment, providing educational, creative and leisure opportunities in a friendly environment.
It consists of local u3a's all over the UK, which are charities in their own right and are run entirely by volunteers.
Local u3as are learning cooperatives which draw upon the knowledge, experience and skills of their own members to organise and provide interest groups in accordance with the wishes of the membership.

The teachers learn and the learners teach. Between them u3a's offer the chance to study over 300 different subjects in such fields as art, Sketching, music, bird watching, local history, strolling and walking.

A typical u3a varies in size from as small as 12 to larger than 2000.

The u3a approach to learning is – learning for pleasure. There is no accreditation or validation and there are no assessments or qualifications to be gained.