The Open University programmes begin

image: Professor Ian Gass rehearsing for a Second level Geochemistry programme.

The Open University first broadcast on 3 January 1971 on BBC Two. The new university reached out to its first students through the innovative use of television and radio, and swiftly proved that it was possible to teach university level subjects to unqualified students at a distance. After a general introduction, the first programme was an introduction to mathematics.

Open University programmes were on at odd corners of the schedule, heralded by the animated OU logo and fanfare - the opening of Divertimento for Three Trumpets and Three Trombones by Leonard Salzedo. Many people who were not OU students saw them, and the broadcasts gained a frequently parodied reputation for dated style and awkward presentation.

This was because there was insufficient money to update them unless the course itself was revised, and the presenters were academics rather than broadcasters. However, over 2 million people have benefitted from OU courses.

In 2006 the late night teaching ended, replaced by other teaching methods such as DVD and the internet. Today the Open University make programmes of general interest through a successful partnership with the BBC. Programmes such as The Money Programme and the award winning Coast are made to inspire an interest in lifelong learning in the viewer.