The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues’ Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), ‘What is Character? Virtue Ethics in Education’ has attracted a huge amount of interest ahead of its launch on the 19th January 2015. Over 5,000 people have signed up for the two week course, reflecting the growing interest in Character and Character Education by the public as well as the Department of Education who have recently launched a £3.5 million fund to support projects in character education in schools, colleges and organisations.

The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues has been at the forefront of research into character education since it was established in 2012 and they have recently published their Framework for Character Education in Schools which was developed in consultation with educators, academies, social entrepreneurs and others to provide a rationale and practical outlet for all the interest in character education. The MOOC will draw upon their expertise and help students explore the theoretical and philosophical basis for character education ahead of the opening of the University of Birmingham School in September 2015.