A Level Law
Why Study This Subject?
Law plays a vital role in society. It provides a means to recognise rights and duties, solve problems and resolve disputes without resorting to violence. A Level Law encourages you to develop the skills necessary to analyse and solve problems by applying rules and to develop the ability to communicate arguments and conclusions clearly and succinctly. It will help you substantiate arguments and develop an enquiring and critical mind. As such, Law provides an excellent background for university and careers not only in law, but also in journalism, local and central government, public relations, teaching, and a range of management and business areas.
It is unlikely that you will have studied Law before as few schools offer the subject at GCSE. However, the course is designed to remove any feelings of uncertainty and confusion that may arise from taking a new subject. Law is taught by five teachers with Law degrees, in a well-resourced subject base.
Law links particularly well with English, Politics, History, Business Studies, Sociology and Psychology. However, through Law’s literate and logical aspects, it complements virtually any subject.
We hope to enrich your study by offering a range of trips and visitors, including:
- Visits to local courts
- Undertake workshops led by visiting speakers from a range of legal professions and/or academia;
- The opportunity to attend conferences around the country.
The department will provide help with the national admission test to read law at certain universities. We typically place over 50 students with local law firms and barrister’s chambers as part of work shadowing week. The department has an oversubscribed Law Society; an enhancement programme developed with the Law Faculty at Huddersfield University and we successfully participate in the annual National Bar Mock Trial Competition.
Students are expected to undertake 3-4 hours of independent work each week for this subject.
Topics you will cover
We teach the AQA specifications. In outline, the course covers:
- The Nature of Law and the English Legal System: The differences between criminal and civil law, the meaning and importance of fault, the relationship between law and morality, Parliamentary law making, judges interpreting this law, judge-made law, the criminal and civil courts, magistrates and juries, etc.
- Criminal Law: The general principles of criminal law, fatal and non-fatal offences against the person, property offences and various defences such as intoxication, insanity, self-defence, etc.
- Tort: Theory of Tort Law, liability in negligence, occupiers’ liability, nuisance and the escape of dangerous things, defences, remedies, etc.
- Contract: Rules on formation of contract, consumer rights, exclusion clauses, breach of contract, damages, etc.
Entry Guidelines
Other than the College’s general entry requirements there are no additional qualifications needed to study Law.
What our students think about Law:
“The Law teachers are very supportive and are great at making lessons interesting. There are also great trip and enrichment opportunities, especially mock trials.”
“I felt the topic booklets were really well laid out and extremely useful. All the content was in one place.”
“We have flashback Fridays which help us recall past topics. Also, after tests we get model answers which are very helpful to learn the structure to similar questions.”
“The crib sheets and topic overviews are extremely helpful for structuring answers and improve my exam technique.”
“We have insightful teaching and resources that clearly and concisely explain each aspect of the course.”
How acceptable is A Level Law to those who want to take a degree in law?
We feel that you would be well advised to study Law at A Level to get a useful insight of the subject before committing yourself to three or four years of intensive (and expensive) study at degree level. Former Greenhead students come back from their first term at university saying how glad they were to have done A Level Law as an introduction to the subject. A Level Law is regarded as equal to other A Levels by OFQUAL, the examining boards and virtually all universities, even the most highly selective ones. Each year, around a quarter of our students are admitted to the elite Russell Group universities. It is not true today that if you want to apply for a Law degree, universities would prefer you not to have taken A Level Law. What even the most competitive universities want is three good grades at A Level in at least two traditional academic subjects.