Open schools are not just concerned with increasing access to secondary schooling, but also with equalising educational opportunities for citizens regardless of their geographic location or socio-economic background. Through a well-articulated policy, broad consensus on the most appropriate direction for the future development of open schooling can be achieved at a national level, while eliminating duplication and overlap. A policy can also facilitate the planning for joint initiatives that maximise the value obtained from limited state funding. This paper explains why open schools are re-emerging as a new model of an educational system. The paper also describes how the Commonwealth of Learning is investing in the development of open educational resources, bringing new technologies and collaborative tools to teachers in developing countries to address the challenges they are facing in providing good quality education and effective integration of technology in the classroom.