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At the beginning of the twenty-first century developments in information and communication technology (ICT) have had significant repercussions for educational practice and for models of pedagogy. The application of ICT has contributed to increasing levels of participation in Higher Education. In 2010, two students were recruited to a Master Degree program at St Mary’s University, London, as online learners. Within four years, numbers had grown exponentially with more than fifty students having started the course as online learners. Online learning implies that through asynchronous participation, learners are not required to be together in the same place and at the same time but can access course materials and communicate with tutors and other learners flexibly at their own time and convenience through a virtual learning environment (VLE). In this way, learners, at any level of study, through online engagement with course content and instruction, are able to participate with colleagues in a range of teaching methods and learning opportunities. This paper explores the personal reflections of learners who successfully completed the course through online learning. There is a paucity of literature on the experiences of learners in their engagement with online learning so it was interesting to consider their perspectives. Adopting a phenomenological approach, it was possible to conduct a small-scale enquiry to explore the views of students who had graduated from the course and to evaluate their individual experiences of studying in this way. It was therefore possible to interpret the benefits and limitations of studying as an online learner. The intention was to examine the experiences and perceptions of individuals from their unique personal viewpoints in order to assess the extent to which online learning supported, challenged and informed conventional practice.

The Academies Act 2010 made provision for all publicly-funded schools in England to become academies. In principle, schools would still be funded by the government but they would enjoy an increased degree of autonomy. In this respect, it is possible to draw parallels with the introduction of Grant-Maintained Schools (GMS) in the 1990s. As then, the prospect of converting to academy status has divided opinion amongst Catholic school leaders. In response to the government’s initiative, though, and despite initial concerns, the Catholic Education Service (CES) has worked with the Department for Education (DfE) so that, providing their Bishop agrees that they do so, Catholic schools can apply for academy status. This paper draws on the findings of an investigation based on responses to a questionnaire survey of seventeen headteachers in Catholic primary and secondary schools across eight of the twenty-two dioceses in England and Wales. The intention of the investigation was to elicit their views about the prospect of Catholic schools applying for academy status.