As Bradford u3a has been a presence in the city for over 40 years, we thought that you would be interested in its history. This is the timeline, or see the more detailed article, kindly written by Jean Blackburn.

1972: The u3a movement started in France with l’Université du Troisième Age (UTA).

1980: The Association Internationale des UTAs was founded.

1982: The first UK u3a was set up in Cambridge, followed by Huddersfield and London.

December 1983: A meeting was held at Bolton Royd Adult Education Centre with the aim of setting up Bradford u3a.

January 1984: First meeting of the Bradford u3a Steering Group was held.

May 1984: Bradford u3a had 49 members and undertook visits to Saltaire, Harewood House and City Farm.

September 1984: Membership reached 100 and now ‘people in Bradford's Borders’ were invited, taking the total to 132!

End of 1984: Bradford u3a attended the first National Conference at Keele University with 14 other u3as.

1990: There are now 216 members in Bradford and nationally 266 u3as.

2009: Bradford u3a had dwindled to 120 members and only eight interest groups.

2020: Membership had increased to about 300, then Covid hit causing a drop in members.

2022: Bradford celebrated the National 40th anniversary of u3a.

2024: Bradford u3a has rebuilt to nearly 300 members and 42 interest groups. We celebrated our 40th year in Bradford.