To have a group or event, first we need to have a leader. Then we need to have enough members who want to join.
Our leaders are our heroes - working on a volunteer basis to make things happen. To be a leader, you don't have to be an expert, nor able to teach others, nor do everything that needs doing yourself. The role is mainly to be the one who organises things and acts as a link between the branch committee and the group members.
This could be booking a place to meet or planning a trip out, sending reminders to tell people where to be and what to bring, and making sure the cash gets collected if a contribution is needed. We generally encourage two or more people to share the leadership responsibilities, so that a group doesn't have to be suspended just because someone goes on holiday. For things that take a bit more organising - like the social events or dining out - a small committee will often get together to do the planning and to run things on the day.
We are always open to suggestions for new groups, and if someone is willing to step forward as a new leader then they will get plenty support from the committee and fellow leaders, for finding a good venue, working out best way to fund meetings, to let members know there is something new on offer, and any other practical help we can give.
And as for what happens in the meetings, there are no set guidelines.
In a few cases, leaders will bring in a qualified tutor, sharing the cost between the group members. Alternatively the leader might be active themselves in coming up with interesting topics or challenges for the group to take on. Or perhaps it may be one member doing the organising while another member leads what happens on the day.
A route for a walk, a subject for discussion, a selection of wines to taste, organising a coach trip to an interesting place, or a good play or film to go and see. We love it when group members can come up with new suggestions.
In many cases, the activity might be the same from week to week - a session of ten-pin bowling, a game of pickleball, getting together to play scrabble, tackling a cryptic crossword - needing minimal organisation once the group is up and running. But even this still needs a leader to keep the ball rolling, and to keep everyone on the same page.
Group members meanwhile will hopefully not just be just waiting to be entertained, but will come up with suggestions themselves for future activities. Or perhaps will be helping out in other ways - such as setting a room out and clearing up afterwards, helping to serve up teas and coffees, and welcoming in any new members.
The leader will keep in touch with the group to send out reminders or to let people know of any last-minute changes. This could be through the u3a's mailing list system, or using something like the WhatsApp messaging tool if members are happy to use this. Again this can all be set up for you, to help any leaders who are just starting a group.
Many groups will set a maximum limit on how many members will be included, perhaps limited by the size of meeting space or just keeping things manageable. If a group is full we usually aim to set up a second group to cover the same topic, however again dependant on finding a volunteer to lead it. (We aim NOT to break up groups that have already gelled together well, nor to ask current leaders to run duplicate sessions, so please do be patient with us until new groups can be set up in parallel to existing closed ones or space become available in the original ones).
Groups can be very active, say climbing a mountain, or can take place sitting around a table. Perhaps something quite technical, or perhaps just meeting up for coffee. Big groups (we've had over 30 people on a single walk, more on trips and outings) or small (just a couple of people going on a fishing trip). Outdoors or indoors, possibly seasonal if weather dependent; sometimes with breaks for the summer holiday period.
Because it is a case of whatever works for the group of people taking part, there is no such thing as a 'typical' group.
Except that always the emphasis will be on being sociable and fun.