In 1971, Doug Bliss became one of the OU’s pioneer students. Now aged 70, he shares how the decision to apply for an innovative new university changed the course of his life and allowed him to achieve success he never believed possible:

“It was 1960. I had failed my 11-plus (the mandatory exam to determine whether you could attend a grammar school). Or perhaps I should say the 11-plus failed me, as it had failed so many people from the impoverished area in which I was raised. I duly trotted off to the local secondary modern school where, with the help of some excellent teachers, I managed to gain a handful of GCE “O” levels.

On leaving school I obtained a respectable job as a telecommunications technician. My career seemed fixed. Then came The Open University. The news that a “university of the air” was to be formed captured my imagination. The era of satellite communications with Telstar, the opening of the Post Office Tower, the “white heat” of technology, man on the moon – it was all happening!

Embarking on a new journey
I could not wait for the OU to begin. I sent my application to study as soon as I possibly could. I would be 21, the minimum age to be accepted as an OU student, by the time the course started. So, in January 1971, I became one of the OU’s very first students.

I watched all of the OU television transmissions and collected my home experiment kit. Due to a post office strike, I also had to collect my study units. The Science Foundation course opened my eyes to a world of learning and understanding. From that point on, I knew that this was where my future would be. It was then that I decided that I wanted to pass on my love of science and learning to others, so I enrolled on a teacher training course to qualify as a science teacher. This was my vocation for the rest of my working life.

My love of learning never diminished, so as well as the Cert. Ed. and the OU degree, I gained an M.Sc. in Crystallography by part-time evening study at London University, whilst teaching A level Physics during the day. I even managed to fit in some crystallographic research, publishing academic papers which I had intended to submit for a PhD. Unfortunately, the pressures of teaching, raising a family and financing the study, together with the considerable time commitment, became too much, so it was with great reluctance that this project had to be abandoned. I prioritised my family and career.

The OU opened my eyes and mind, boosted my confidence and enabled me to pursue a different career. During this career I taught at several schools, but ironically, the one that I ended up teaching at was the very school that had rejected me as a failure at the age of 11. Yes, the OU certainly changed my life.”