I decided to do online Art History in year 13 because nothing else would fit in my timetable. I had never taken it before and was prepared for it to be dry and hard to engage with. Instead, it was one of my favourite subjects – and the learning was all online.

Being online meant this course was flexible and put trust in me as a student. I found this really liberating as it allowed me to focus on my own interests within the subject and manage my own studies. This seemed like a challenge at first, but I discovered that it gave me more faith in my own abilities to self-manage. Having less rigidity meant I was forced to be more disciplined, which I found made the course more satisfying to engage with. Now that I am at university, I can see how similar this course was to tertiary studies. It was one of the classes which most prepared me for uni because of the self-management and self-reliance it encouraged. Even if I have not chosen to go to university, doing an online course really improved my punctuality, discipline, and flexibility, which are useful and beneficial skills to build for day-to-day life.

Overall, I found that an online class was certainly worth doing. It taught me different skills and gave me more independence as a student. For anyone who is thinking of taking one of these courses, I would say, don’t shy away from it! You might just come out the other side a more mature and self-motivated student, which will help you on any path you take.

By Philippa Mallinson