In this edition:
- Notices
- Upcoming Events
- Groups Notices
- Local and National
Notices
Schoolreaders Volunteers needed in Chichester

Schoolreaders is a national literacy charity. We find and match volunteers with local primary schools to support children in improving their reading and comprehension skills, as well as developing their confidence and social skills.
Schoolreaders has made strong connections with U3A groups in other regions, so we’d like to share some information about our organisation with your members to see who might be interested in our volunteering opportunities.
To make a difference to a child’s life chances by helping them make progress with their reading is such a rewarding experience for volunteers. We have two schools in Chichester who have registered with us and are awaiting to be matched with volunteers. One school is in Sidlesham and the other is in North Mundham. Both schools are looking for several volunteers to meet the high demand of struggling readers they have. They are keen to be matched with volunteers soon to help their pupils improve their reading skills over the coming academic year.
Our volunteers must be able to commit to at least an hour each week for a full year during term time (although holidays can of course be taken) and will undergo an Enhanced DBS check, which is organised and paid for by the school. Volunteers must have a good standard of written and spoken English, but we do not require any specific qualifications and we do not have any age restrictions on our volunteers as long as they are over 18.
Please visit https://www.schoolreaders.org/ more information about Schoolreaders and the work we do. If you have any questions, please do get in touch with Charlotte Foot via this link.
Groups meeting in the Festival Theatre cafe
Sometimes the theatre puts on special performances where they leave the doors to the auditorium open. These are generally marked as dementia friendly or relaxed performance. When this happens chat from groups in the cafe can be heard in the auditorium and can be distracting for the audience there. Could you please avoid these times when you arrange your meetings. It may also be worth avoiding matinee performances as the cafe gets very busy during the interval.
The new theatre brochure is out now and it indicates when these special performances are on (DF and RP).
Save the Date!
This year’s u3a Christmas lunches will take place at Restaurant 64 at Chichester College (as in previous years) on Wednesday 3 and Tuesday 9 December. They will start at 12 pm with a complimentary drink from the bar, followed by a three-course luncheon, including vegetarian options. More details coming.
Upcoming Events
Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street – 18th September at 2pm
“Horatio Nelson: Life and Loves” a talk by Dr James Taylor

During the talk we will discover the extraordinary life of Vice-Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) through period paintings, drawings and prints. Nelson was a charismatic and complex character who met his premature death on the deck of HMS Victory on 21 October 1805 at the age of 47. Nelson was admired by his men afloat, but he was lampooned ashore for his relationship with Lady Emma Hamilton.
James is a former curator of pictures at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, an exhibition organiser, author and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Doors open from 1.15 p.m., no booking required. Tea and coffee will be served after the talk.
October Coffee Morning – Tuesday, 7th October, 10am-12noon
Always on the First Tuesday of each month, so please mark your calendars!

Our Coffee Mornings are held in the Bar at the MINERVA THEATRE building, opposite the Chichester Festival Theatre. You can chat with our groups team and learn about current and new offerings, meet old friends and make new ones!
Groups Notices
“I’m not over the hill—I’m just enjoying the view from the top.”
New French Group

French Intermediate: Would you be interested in joining a new group that aims to improve understanding and grammatical accuracy for those already having a reasonable French knowledge? This would comprise some focused conversation as well as using a textbook and/or magazine to work through exercises and translations.
The exact format, venue and frequency is still open for discussion. If you would like to register an interest, please let the Groups team know at Groups message link HERE.
MUSIC GROUP

We are a small friendly band of music lovers who like to spend monthly Wednesday mornings ( 10:30 – 12’ish ) relaxing,listening, discussing and learning about anything and everything about all genres of music, sometimes attached to unusual themes !
We have room and would welcome a few more members. In the last couple of years we have Mulled over Mahler ( with the help of Bernstein ) ; Caribbeaned with Calypso ; Found some Finnish composers ; Kickstarted with Klezmer ; Whirled with Woodwind ; Wondered about Women composers ; Surrendered to Shoshtakovich and sourced wordplay with Sondheim 1 Oh and had a Buzz with Brass !
So why not come along and give us a try ? Coffee, biscuits and music…..irresistible.
-Alf
If you’re interested in joining, contact us using this link.
Local and National
Chichester u3a Magazine
National u3a
There is a wealth of information on the National u3a website – www.u3a.org.uk , including online groups, u3a Radio podcast, upcoming events, and the latest issue of Third Age Matters, the monthly national u3a magazine (the link to the current version is:

https://www.u3a.org.uk/news/u3a-matters/screen-reader-editions/u3a-matters-summer-2025-screenreader-edition
The next bulletin is due out on 26th September, so if you have an item to submit, you may use this link.
Links to our Website
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Please send a message via the usual channels if you wish to have some item of u3a news put in the Bulletin. Likewise, if you have suggestions as to how to improve the Bulletin or would like to join our team.
Best wishes, Miriam Knight
The Constitution of the Chichester U3A is available to view here, and its Terms of Use here.
Enquiries If you wish to write to the Chichester U3A, then the correspondence address is: U3A Chichester, Box 809, MailboxesEtc., 26 The Hornet, CHICHESTER, PO19 7BB If there is an urgent matter that needs to be discussed then call 07460 109600, or contact the membership secretary.
