Pupils from Milton Keynes kick off Open University campaign

Their thoughts on higher education will be kicking off the university’s latest campaign looking at the future of education, how it will evolve and how academics see teaching developing in the next few decades.

The pupils of Long Meadow School had some insightful ideas about what a university is.

Their comments included: “When you go to university I think first you need to write things down and then you can get a job” and “A university is like a really big building with lots of glass on it and it has solar panels. And the professors...have a bowtie and glasses and smart suits.”

Assistant head teacher Emma Kidd said: “It was a wonderful experience for the children to be filmed by the OU and to get them thinking about their future education and what that might look like.

“All children found the morning engaging, enjoyable and fun! We are very grateful to the OU for including us in their campaign.”

The Open University (OU) has been ranked in the top 20 of UK universities in the latest National Student Survey. The OU rose 19 places to be joint 20th out of 139 participating universities in the annual survey of student satisfaction. It fared even better in the Nations of the UK, ranking first in Northern Ireland (out of five), second in Scotland (out of 19) and joint third in Wales (out of 10). Students gave the OU an overall satisfaction rating of 87 per cent, up one percentage point on last year.