VFR on Top .. A US note
Again a note form the other side of the pond ...
In FAA land, "VFR on top" is a VFR clearance normally associated with a filed IFR. Very useful to get a clearance to climb through a layer to VFR on top or to a a cleared direct to a fix hundreds of miles away if VMC under IFR. Whats really nice about it is you stay in the system and can get a hard IFR altitude with a radio call in a few seconds if the layer gets higher or you need to get down and you can't imagine up a hole.
I think what you are talking about is called "VFR over the top" here and sure isn't for the faint hearted or those that don't feel lucky!