I was one of the presidents of the Open University Students’ Association who had the privilege of working with John Needham (Other lives, 18 April). As permanent secretary, he was the voice of the students on campus.
He was quoted in the university newspaper saying that “without the students there’d be no OU” and his stewardship helped OUSA influence policy at critical times. As well as the petition that saved the OU, there were issues such as restricting the costs to students of implementing home computing elements in courses and the establishment of named degrees.
He also had a lighter side. His appearance in the stocks on one open day, with a charge of 20p to throw a wet sponge at the permanent secretary, raised a significant amount for the OU Students Educational Trust.
