To take your exams - unless you are converting from another ICAO licence and have lots of hours - you have to do a complete course with a recognised FTO. A distance learning course will include a small percentage of classroom study. If you meet the standard the school then tells the CAA you are fit to sit the exams. No school, no exams.
All recognised schools will give you full sets of notes, and you should not need to buy any more. Some schools are fully on line, some use CD based multimedia and some are paper based. Check the search system here for recommendations for various schools.
Good luck
Dick W