http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22316

This e-petition seems to have got stuck at about 46,000 signatures.  We need 100,000 for it to reach the official threshold.

If you are reading this, you are probably an OU student.  If you are an OU student, you probably do not want OU fees to rise or the breadth and depth of the curriculum to be impoverished.  If you are resident in the United Kingdom and have not signed the petition, please do so. 

To any-one outside the OU, I would say that the Open University is a major asset in re-skilling the UK workforce: cutting it, even in time of recession, is counter-productive. 

OU adolescence

Note: A174 Start Writing Fiction (10 points, level 1)

A215 Creative Writing (60 points, level 2)

A363 Advanced Creative Writing (60 points, level 3)

When I did A174, it was like a party.
It was like a children's party:
We had jelly and ice cream and
Played pass-the-parcel and
Our tutors told us not to cry if
We didn't get the prize.

When I did A215, it was like a party.
It was a more-grown-up children's party:
The boys wore flowery shirts
And the girls wore frocks
And when we ran out of words to say we
Would pull up our socks and
Try to look sophisticated
Or cool.

Now I am doing A363, it is like a party.
It is like a teenagers' party:
We are allowed to do things we
Weren't allowed to do before but
We still can't slag off tutors or swear or
Mention anything for financial gain.
And so, away from the dance-floor
By email, in shadowy corners, we pair. Cor.