Residential school arrangements

The Open University is committed to offering disabled students and anyone who has additional requirements the opportunity to go to residential school. We will take all practical steps to make attendance possible, offering you a place at the most suitable residential school and providing support and facilities. To do this the University must be satisfied that

  • there are suitable facilities and equipment so that each student can gain the full educational value from the school and benefit from the whole experience
  • students with additional requirements can attend in safety and in reasonable comfort.

If you are eligible for a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) it can be used to pay for equipment or the cost of an assistant and their expenses.

If you are eligible for a DSA, The Open University will only provide study support that cannot be provided by a DSA.

Find out in this short quiz if you are eligible for the DSA.

If you register for a module with a residential school and have told us that you have a disability or additional requirements, we will send you a copy of the booklet Meeting your needs at residential school (PDF, 728 KB). It summarises much of the information about residential schools that is on this site, and also lists the venues used..

Academic information is provided by individual faculties to help you decide how suitable each school would be for you and the type of support you may need. You can get this information from our Residential school module information page.

Once you have read the relevant information about residential school you can tell us what you need by giving us as much information as possible on your request  form, so that we can provide the right facilities and support for you at residential school.

The Disability Resources Team are happy to offer guidance and to talk to you about the support and equipment available. To talk to an adviser, email them at or telephone them on 01908 653745.

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