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Open University instead of sixth form

Hi all,I'm not completely up for going to Sixth Form, and I feel that I'm more of a self-motivated person, instead of someone who enjoys the typical classroom teaching methods.Now, it popped into my head that I could do an Open University course, and after looking into it over the past few weeks, I've had a few questions that I would like some advice and answers for!1. Does this count as education: can I legally leave school at 16 and pursue this?2. Money: Being 16, do I apply for the student loans, or any other financial support?3. Will doing the open university put me at any sort of disadvantage to other students with a degree and traditional a-levels?Thanks!
Original post by MichealMi
Hi all,I'm not completely up for going to Sixth Form, and I feel that I'm more of a self-motivated person, instead of someone who enjoys the typical classroom teaching methods.Now, it popped into my head that I could do an Open University course, and after looking into it over the past few weeks, I've had a few questions that I would like some advice and answers for!1. Does this count as education: can I legally leave school at 16 and pursue this?2. Money: Being 16, do I apply for the student loans, or any other financial support?3. Will doing the open university put me at any sort of disadvantage to other students with a degree and traditional a-levels?Thanks!


1. No I don't think you can legally leave school at 16, you need to be at school or doing a course at a FE college. Pretty sure that OU study won't count.

2. As far as I know you could technically take out a student loan at 16 to pay for your OU course, but your parents would have to act as guarantor until you can ratify the loan agreement yourself.

3. Yes it will. Admission tutors will rightly ask themselves why on earth you chose to do OU study rather than A levels. Mature students (people aged 21 and over) can use OU study as an alternative to A levels, but it is a really bad idea for someone your age.

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