The Open University (OU) is a public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off-campus; many of its courses can also be studied anywhere in the world. There are also a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the 45 hectares university campus at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, where they use the staff facilities for research, as well as more than 1,000 members of academic and research staff and over 2,500 administrative, operational and support staff.
Coat of arms of The Open University
The Royal Charter of The Open University
Queen Elizabeth II visits The Open University in 1979.
Walton Hall manor house, the vice-chancellor's office and the second-oldest building on the OU Campus
Milton Keynes is a city in Buckinghamshire, England, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Image: Milton Keynes Christthe Cornerstone 01
Image: Peace Pagoda geograph.org.uk 340248
Image: Stony Stratford the Cock and the Bull
Image: Bletchley Park House geograph.org.uk 3563770