We have currently have four e-studies courses and there are more under development. Each course has its own particular purpose, so please choose carefully.
The following are courses are pitched at under-graduate level, designed to last one year, with up to eleven units, each taking about one month. It is hoped that students will learn with the heart as well as the head. A course tutor is allocated who receives and gives feed-back on assignments. There is a bursary for those who cannot afford the full fees. The courses are designed by Ray Simpson with the course director, Peter Sharpe, formerly Learning Development Officer, Open Learning Unit Aberystwyth, University of Wales.
To enrol or get further details contact the Course Direcector.
This is the most recent course offered by Ray Simspon and is fully explained on the website www.waymarksoflife.com
You can download a flyer for it here and you will find out more from Ray's personal website
It is an on-line course, which is self-guided and supported by email contact. The course will unfold insights and encourage us to live in a whole new way. Seven days of email correspondance are followed by resources and spiritual formation exercises for the next week. You only receive the next email when last one opened. The course os free, but donationas are welcome.You can cancel at any time. Once you have joined you will have access to a closed Facebook group so that you can interact with others on the course.
Igniting the Flame is based on Ray Simpson’s book New Celtic Monasticism for everyday people and leads to students putting together a Way of Life. It is a Distance learning course with an opportunity to meet other students via Zoom meetings for fellowship and support.
The Introduction to Celtic Spirituality is also distance learning, more academic and you work on your own with support from a Tutor.
Our next ITF course, which starts in January 2025, is already full. However, to join the waiting list for the 2026 course, please email:
Register early to avoid disappointment!
This distance learning course will be of interest if you are looking for a carefully structured and supportive way to make sense of your life.
The course operates according to the Community's Safeguarding guidelines.
The cost for the course is £100
Students have a one year registration period in which to submit all assessed work. There is no submission schedule of deadlines, but we advise that as a rule students should submit assignments for each unit within one month. Students are free to work at their own pace and are responsible for organising their own study and writing time, although they can discuss this with their tutor.
In the first instance contact the Director of Celtic e-Studies
This one-year course has been developed by Ray Simpson (founder of the international
Community
of Aidan and Hilda), and Peter Sharpe (Learning Development Officer at Aberystwyth
University).
It is designed to introduce students to the key components of spirituality
that characterise the Celtic Christian tradition in its first and subsequent waves.
Subjects covered in the units of the first course include:
Anyone who feels drawn to explore Celtic Christian Spirituality, for example:
The course costs £300
The course is approximately equivalent to work done at under-graduate degree level,
but differs quite significantly in approach. If you are familiar with the UK Higher education credit
system, the module is about 30 credits worth of study material. You should not be discouraged from
applying if you have not studied at degree level.
We design courses with the aim of
facilitating what we call ‘head through the heart’ learning. This approach sets out to
lead students to consider and reflect upon the personal meaning and relevance of what they are
learning about, not just to engage with subjects in a purely intellectual or ‘academic’
way.
We are aiming for a holistic approach where the intellectual, the spiritual, and the
practical applications of learning are integrated and support each other. This makes for a rich
learning experience with the student’s personal responses and reflection at the centre.
Students
registering for the course are allocated a tutor whose role is to assess submitted work and provide
feedback about it. Students may also contact tutors for advice about studying and producing
assignments.
Students are required to submit three pieces of work to be assessed by the course
tutor. Two of these can be chosen from a number of different essay titles that reflect different areas
of the course content. The third assignment is a more personal piece in which the student is asked to
reflect on what they have learned while studying the course.
The work is not graded in the
traditional academic sense (i.e. no mark or score will be given). Rather, the tutor will comment on
the degree to which the work satisfactorily demonstrates that students have been able to engage with,
reflect upon, and think critically about the material the course introduces.
The course is
divided into units, each with a specific theme. The text in each unit introduces and discusses the
core subjects and ideas related to this theme. Students are directed to read particular sections of
core texts and to look at online web pages and other relevant materials. In each unit we ask students
to undertake particular exercises which are not assessed. This may be to explore a particular subject
more deeply, or reflective exercises that help students to consider the personal applications of what
they are learning.
Students who satisfactorily complete the course, as confirmed by their
tutor, will receive a Certificate. The course is not credit-bearing for academic
purposes.
Students have a one year registration period in which to submit all assessed work. There is no submission schedule of deadlines, but we advise that as a rule students should submit assignments for each unit within one month. Students are free to work at their own pace and are responsible for organising their own study and writing time, although they can discuss this with their tutor.
You can download a PDF file for reading here and one for printing out in flyer form here.