A North East charity dedicated to promoting lifelong learning for adults is launching its new season of talks, workshops and events with a free public lecture from one of the UK’s most respected legal voices.
Brenda Hale, the Right Honourable Baroness Hale of Richmond, first female President of The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, will launch Explore Lifelong Learning’s new autumn programme with a free talk at Brunswick Methodist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne on Tuesday 22 September at 18:00.
Discussing her decades-long legal career, which includes being the first woman to hold the positions of Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and Justice of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale will also talk about her most recent book ‘With the Law on Our Side: How the Law Works and How We Can Make it Work Better for Everyone’.
The free lecture, which takes place before the start of Explore Lifelong Learning’s new season of classes and events in 2026/2027, acts as an introduction to the programme. The Legacy Lecture is funded from a generous bequest from a past member in support of the charity’s work.
Trevor Buck, Explore member, Trustee, and Emeritus Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at De Montfort University, said:
“Lady Hale has had a distinguished academic and judicial career, culminating in her appointment as the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The subject of her lecture for Explore Lifelong Learning is her latest book, With the Law on our Side, in which she explores how the court system in the UK has suffered relative neglect at all levels in past decades.
“We are delighted and honoured to be hosting Baroness Hale of Richmond as our Annual Legacy Lecturer in 2026.”
Lady Hale’s decorated legal career began in 1966 when she started teaching law at The University of Manchester. During this time, she also qualified as a barrister and began practising at the Manchester Bar. In 1984, Lady Hale became the first woman to be appointed to the Law Commission. During her time as Law Commissioner for England and Wales she played a significant role in the Children Act 1989, the Family Law Act 1996, and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Following her appointment as a High Court Judge in the Family Division, she regularly heard cases in the North East and in Newcastle upon Tyne.
She is also well known for delivering a UK Supreme Court verdict in September 2019 that ruled the Government’s decision to prorogue Parliament for five weeks was unlawful. As well as the verdict itself, Lady Hale’s choice of accessories also hit the headlines. Her now infamous spider brooch was widely lauded and discussed at the time.
Lady Hale said:
“As a child of the North East (the real Richmond in North Yorkshire) I am delighted to be returning to Newcastle to celebrate Lifelong Learning – a cause which gets ever closer to my heart the older I get.”
Explore Lifelong Learning is an adult education programme run by the Joseph Cowen Lifelong Learning Centre (JCLLC), an organisation established in 2013. Providing a wide range of courses and one-off sessions across the arts, humanities and sciences, Explore Lifelong Learning is made up of three, ten-week seasons covering autumn, winter and spring.
Taught by experts and experienced tutors, including many from the region’s universities, the annual programme contains a mix of courses, lectures, study groups, walks and practical art classes. The first 2026/2027 season includes sessions about Charles Dickens, Bob Dylan, Black Activism, Ship Building, American Art, Strategic Minerals, Wagner, Cosmology, Screwball Comedies, Maxillary Facial Surgery, Cyber Psychology, World History, Writing About Food and British Politics.
Membership to Explore Lifelong Learning costs £95 per 10-week season, or £250 for a full year. Members can attend as many sessions as they’d like. JCLLC also offers a bursary for people experiencing financial hardship. More information is available at www.weareexplore.org.uk or by emailing weareexplore@gmail.com.
Trevor continued:
“The Explore programme offers adult education classes across a wide range of subject matter in the arts, humanities and sciences. We hope Lady Hale’s lecture will inspire people to join the programme and contribute to the development of topical legal studies within Explore.”
Explore member, Angela Young, added:
“Explore is the backbone of my week – it amuses, intrigues, challenges and inspires. It’s a thoroughly sociable way to broaden my horizons.”
‘With the Law on our Side’, a free public lecture by Brenda Hale, the Right Honourable Baroness Hale of Richmond, takes place at 18:00 on Tuesday 22 September 2026 at Brunswick Methodist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne. This in-person event will also be available to access remotely via Zoom. To find out more and book a place, visit www.weareexplore.org.uk/Explore_events
To find out more about Explore Lifelong Learning, visit www.weareexplore.org.uk.
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