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16 Courses

Learn new skills, pursue your interests or advance your career with our short online courses.

Discover the land of tea, castles, Shakespeare, red buses, black cabs, postboxes, and the Beatles

This virtual tour will see you take in the sights, sounds, history, culture, and language of FutureLearn’s home country.

Travel through the throes of English history

Dating back tens of thousands of years, England is well known for being steeped in history.

Your tour starts at Star Carr, one of Britain’s most important archaeological sites. You’ll find out about the excavations that took place on this site – including the discovery of the oldest known house in Britain – and explore what Star Carr can tell us about English people 10,000 years ago and the origin of everyday things we still use today.

Fast-forward some thousands of years, and you’ll find yourself amongst the War of the Roses. It’s the time of Richard III and medieval battles are the order of the day.

You’ll learn about day to day life in 15th century England, from where they lived and worked to how they cooked and what they ate. Before you go, you’ll get a fascinating insight into the discovery of King Richard III in a Leicester car park in 2012 – and his subsequent reburial.

After the excitement of 15th century England, you’ll move on to the equally turbulent rule of the Tudor monarchs in the 16th century. This time, you’ll examine the religious changes that took place during this time of reformation and explore how this turbulent era has shaped modern-day British politics.

Before leaving history behind, you’ll gain a fascinating insight into the British Army from the beginning of the 19th century until the end of World War 2.

With a legacy stretching back centuries, you’ll study the army’s role in the making of the modern world. From the battle of Waterloo to the Somme, you’ll reflect on the British Army’s composition, its place in society, and their military proficiency.

Get a taste for English theatre, literature, and film

Renowned for its literary and theatrical greats, England has no shortage of esteemed cultural organisations and museums. FutureLearn offers courses from some of these very institutions, including the British Film Institute.

Join experts in film education to explore how short film can be used to enhance teaching in topics like language and literacy.

Or, if theatre is more your thing, take a moment to find out more about physical theatre with a top English university, the University of Leeds. You’ll develop your understanding of Meyerhold’s Russian actor training technique for ‘the slap’ and get fooling friends and family, or practice for treading the boards yourself.

Become a weather aficionado

Virtually or in person, you can’t leave England without pondering, discussing, and berating the weather.

As well as discussing it with anyone you meet, you must comment on why it’s too cold or too hot. You can never be comfortable with the temperature you’re given and you should always find a way to criticise, question, or comment on it.

To help build your skills in this area, join the English weather experts at the Royal Meteorological Society and the University of Exeter to learn more about the basic processes behind the weather.

From weather warnings to ‘cold fronts’, once you’re an expert in the weather you can become a true, honourary English person.