Schools interested in the Young Applicants in Schools Scheme (YASS) should allocate one person to be the coordinator and The Open University will advise that person about the scheme and answer questions.
We can also arrange a visit or virtual meeting for individual schools. We can meet with staff or pupils to discuss YASS or deliver a presentation.
Your school will be responsible for selecting and registering suitable students. Information for teachers on how to register your pupils can be found here.
The process differs from school to school, but often the YASS coordinator will meet students and their parents before the courses begin to prepare them for what lies ahead. In some cases parents have been so impressed with the courses that they have decided to do an Open University course themselves!
Click here for a diagram outlining the steps, and find out more about support resources that are available.
The Open University encourages schools to:
If you are unsure if some students will cope with a full course, The Open University offer a fantastic range of free courses through OpenLearn. There are over 700 courses and students can work at their own pace and start whenever suits their timetable. This is a great opportunity for students to get an idea of what to expect from independent university study.
If a student has second thoughts about studying with The OU before their course starts they should contact us to cancel their registration before the course start date. This means we will be able to use the funding for the benefit of another student.
If a student decides to stop studying once the course has started, in most cases unfortunately the funding will be lost. However, it is still important that they contact us to cancel so that they don’t receive a ‘Fail’ result at the end of the course.
Explore our qualifications and courses by requesting one of our prospectuses today.