Open Study College marks tenth anniversary milestone!

Open Study College are a leading distance learning provider who have transformed the home learning industry. After years of hard work, determination, and enthusiasm, we celebrated our tenth anniversary in August 2017. During this time, over 60,000 students have studied with us, and we now offer over 450 courses including fitness, bookkeeping and child care.

Once upon a time…

Whilst working in the education industry, Mark Rutter spotted an opportunity to offer distance learning courses in a new way... and so, in August 2007, he founded Open Study College. Mark strongly believes that everyone should have the right to an education, so his aim was to provide high quality courses that are available to anyone at affordable prices.
To begin with, we had only a handful of courses, but a lot of ambition and resilience. Shortly after opening, we embarked on a partnership with the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) which has lasted ten years! Our partnership has since gone from strength to strength, and in June 2009 we wrote our first ever course, ICB Bookkeeping Level 1.

Growth is good!

Over the last ten years we have grown at an impressive rate, constantly adding to and improving the courses we offer. We’ve always been keen to provide courses that we know students want, so in August 2010 we added A Levels to our range of courses. A Levels are particularly popular as they give students the opportunity to increase their UCAS points and be accepted into university!
Today, Open Study College have multiple Awarding Organisations on board, including CACHE, Active IQ, and AAT. The first Awarding Organisation to come on board with Open Study College was NCFE in 2011. NCFE helped to boost Open Study College’s credibility, offering a diverse mix of nationally recognised qualifications.
Another important milestone for Open Study College, was the development of our eLearning courses in 2013. ELearning courses allow students to study on their devices, introducing them to a more convenient, simpler way of learning.

Giving something back

Open Study College are eager to support charity, whether we choose to donate our money or our time. Since 2012, we have had a partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support. During this time, Open Study College have donated £50,000 to the cause, something that we are very proud of. Every September we also take part in the Macmillan’s Coffee Morning, which is an event our employees always enjoy and raise plenty of money for the cause.

Award-winning college

Open Study College have a great track-record when it comes to awards. Over the last ten years we have been shortlisted for an incredible 16 awards, and won 7! Our award wins to date include:

• Tutor of the Year 2014 - ICB Luca Awards
• Small Training Provider of the Year 2014 - ICB Luca Awards
•  Best Distance Learning Leader 2016 - Corporate Vision Magazine Businesswoman Awards
•  Excellence in Tutor Support 2016 - Corporate Vision Magazine Businesswoman Awards
• Global Leader and Excellence in Distance Learning 2017 - Corporate Livewire Awards
• Corporate Vision Influential Women in Business Award 2017 (Samantha Rutter)
•  Further Education College of the Year 2017 - Education Awards

And with more award winners set to be announced later this year, we are excited to see what our tenth year in business holds!

What makes us different?

Open Study College understands what’s important to our students. We offer the full package, including high quality qualifications and award-winning tutor support to ensure we provide the best possible learning experience. Our students can take advantage of great extras such as a free NUS Extra card and CV writing service. Open Study College's distance learning courses allow our learners to study at their own pace, from the comfort of their own home, when it’s convenient for them… a truly flexible way of learning.

How are we celebrating?

Reaching our tenth anniversary is a huge achievement in the distance learning industry, so we wanted to celebrate in a big way! We recently held a party for our employees, partnership companies and those who have supported us along the way to get together to celebrate. It was fantastic to see everybody enjoying themselves whilst celebrating Open Study College’s success.
We also wanted to give something back to the community to mark ten years in business. To do this, we will be supporting ten different charities throughout our tenth year. And we have some fun and exciting ways to get Open Study College's employees involved in raising money and awareness!
We have also commissioned a special animation to celebrate our achievements and success over the last ten years, and we think it's pretty great! Take a look for yourself...

Go to our website for more information