when I got my first flying licence I sort of got the ground school drip fed to me as I went along. Most lessons had a short classroom brief (20 mins) and a proper de-brief and when a lesson was cancelled I got a good hour of one to one with the instructor, for free. I did my part by reading the Thom books, cover to cover, and asking appropriate questions whenever I saw my instructor. The only subject that was a bit "dry" was the Air Law. As luck would have it I was grounded for a month after having surgery on my hand and I signed on to another flying school for a Saturday morning intense Air Law lesson, followed by sitting the test on the same day. Luckily it was all multi choice as my normal writing hand was strapped across my chest so essay writing would have been out.
I would guess that anyone who can cope with OU style distance learning would do well in the exams by studying on their own.
Rans6....