S102 my first degree course

In 1989 I studied S102 - Science: A Foundation Course the first course towards my degree. It was a first level course, the predecessor of the current S103.

At that time the Open University specialised in degrees and the normal progression was one or two Foundations (first level) and 4 courses above foundation level.

I was allocated a tutor/councillor to help with the course and any other related queries or problems. The only personal contact I had with him was when I went to the first tutorial. After that I was not able to attend any other tutorials as I had two young(ish) children and my husband was out at work when the tutorials were on.

There was no First Class conferencing system or web site in 1989 so I worked completely on my own. Looking back I was isolated but didn’t really feel it at the time and I thoroughly enjoyed the course.

When I did S102 the OU lent students a basic Science kit and other materials used were ordinary household products such as tin foil and arrowroot. I did have a bit of a problem finding a holly bush but I found one in the end. We had to collect leaves off a holly bush to count for the number of them affected by the holly leaf miner.

I never really thought of that year as studying. It was a year of playing with Science and I found it great fun. I measured the distance to the moon and did experiments in my kitchen.

A compulsory part of the course was the summer school. In the late eighties all foundation courses included a summer school. It could be missed only in case of exceptional circumstances. And I’m glad I didn’t miss mine.

I had chosen to do my summer school at Stirling University. The accommodation was very basic being a student room consisting of a bed and chair. But the grounds were lovely and each day we walked over the bridge across the lake from the accommodation block to the day buildings.

At the end of the year I sat my exam in a church hall in nearby Ayr. That is the only time I did regret not attending the tutorials because most of the other students knew each other from having met at them or in study groups and spent the time before the exam chatting to each other.

I passed the course with no trouble, falling just a little short, in both the continual assessment and the exam, of a distinction. Years later I was to discover that I could use this course on its own to give me my first piece of paper - The Certificate in Natural Sciences. This is possible because the OU allows you to count most courses towards two different qualifications.

The problem now was which course to do the next year. I would have liked to continue with the Earth Science side but, being practical, realised I would never get a job in Earth Sciences near where I live. At that time my main object in doing the degree was the hope of getting a good job.
So in the end I opted for another foundation course - T102 - Living with Technology: A Foundation Course and went on to study it in 1990.