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100 Years of the Working Class at

The University of Reading

  • An Extension College with the Best Intentions
  • Student Experiences
  • Workers Educational Association
  • Activism
  • Staff Experiences
  • Interactive Campus Map
  • Addressing Class Today and Your Thoughts

1926 – 2026 Working Class Campus

Discovering the Working Class throughout Campus

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    An Extension College with the Best Intentions

    The beginnings of the Reading University and how the working class was introduced and affected.

  • From the Imperial War Museum; “A picture of a southern town: Life in a wartime Reading, Berkshire, England, UK, 1945” – a group of horticulture students with Lecturers Miss Hole

    Student Experiences

    A number of working-class past and present students shared their experiences at the university; the positives, negatives, and impacts on their lives.

  • Staff members of the Workers' Educational Association (1909) ‘Workers’ Educational Association: 1903-1927’, Spartacus Educational  [article] <https://spartacus-educational.com/WEA.htm> (last accessed 12 January 2026)

    Workers Educational Association

    Exploring the WEA’s partnership with the University of Reading and its impact on access to education.

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    Activism

    History of working-class activism, highlighting significant protests throughout the centenary

  •  Photograph of Edward J Godden and Frederick T Millard, two engineers at the University Extension College. From: From ‘Stoking the Boilers’, Tales from the archives: Snapshots of early academic life at Reading, [article], (November 22nd, 2022), <https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/tales-from-the-archives/category/london-road-campus/page/2/> (Last accessed: 13/01/2026)

    Staff Experiences

    Past and present working-class staff members share their experiences of working at the university and the challenges they have faced.

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    Addressing Class Today and Your Thoughts

    Learn about the issues that working class students of today experience and what the university of Reading in particular is doing, to curb these issues

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    Interactive Campus Map

    Many of our buildings across our two campuses are linked to the universities working-class history. Explore this map to find out more!