Why should I study A Level Law?

This course will foster your interest and enjoyment of law.  You will develop knowledge of the law in England, and an awareness of law in context to  specific cases. The course will enable you to know and understand the changing nature of law and the interaction between law, morals, justice and society and to know and understand the changing nature of law and the interaction between law, morals, justice, society and technology.

The aim of this course is to provide a practical approach to the study of law enabling you to be equipped with the legal knowledge, understanding and legal skills needed to prepare you for the further study of law and related subjects (such as business, economics, history, politics and sociology) or legal apprenticeships and employment.  The course has been designed with top Universities and Law firms to ensure a good foundation at the next stage and previous students have said it is a very beneficial foundation to go on to a Law degree. Law is highly regarded amongst all universities, including Russell Group Universities. 

Studying this subject will enable you to:

• Develop your knowledge and understanding of the English legal system and areas of private and public law within the law of England and Wales.
• Develop an understanding of legal method and reasoning and the ability to communicate persuasive legal arguments.
• Develop and apply the techniques of legal method and reasoning to analyse and offer answers to problems, based on legal principles, legislation and case law
• Demonstrate critical awareness of the influence and operation of the law in society.

Course Specification

Students will be introduced to the concept of legal liability through the study of criminal law and the law of tort.  This will enable you to develop and apply the techniques of legal method and reasoning to analyse and offer answers to legal problems, based on legal rules and principles and develop the ability to construct and communicate legal arguments by reference to appropriate legal authorities.

The A Level in Law will develop your knowledge of law through advanced study of contract law.  You will develop your critical awareness of the law through the study of the nature of law.

The English legal system and the nature of law is split into three components.

Component 1: The Legal System and Criminal Law

This component is split into two sections, Section A: The Legal System and Section B: Criminal Law.

It gives an insight into how the UK’s legal system works including the differences between the civil and criminal courts before considering the legal requirements for criminal offences including murder, manslaughter and theft.

Component 2: Law Making and the Law of Tort

This component is split into two sections, Section A: Law Making and Section B: The Law of Tort.

Throughout this component, you will gain an understanding of how laws are made and influenced in the UK. You will look at areas including parliamentary law making, delegated legislation, statutory interpretation, judicial precedent, law reform and European Union law. In tort law, you will appreciate your rights as an individual by studying topics such as employment and family law, as well as rules and theory, liability, defences and compensation.

Unit 3: The nature of Law and The Law of Contract
This component is split into two sections, Section A: The Nature of Law and Section B: Contract Law. More philosophical in nature, this unit considers the big questions such as the difference between morality and law. You will also study contract law focussing on the elements of contract law from the formation of contracts to their enforcement, identifying any violation or breech of contract within the law.

All topics are taught in an interactive way involving plenty of discussion and debates as well as applying legal principles to given scenarios.

A Level Law is the only subject that will give you exemption from future exams if you want to train as a professional.

Get a C or above, and you are exempt from several modules to train as a paralegal or legal executive making big cost savings!

Examining Board Information

Board: OCR

Course Code: H415

Click the image on the right to download the full course specification. 

Widening Horizons

The course is engaging and encourages you to experience the law in action to widen your horizons. You have the opportunity to visit to the Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bailey and participate mock trials, debates and competitions to bring the subject to life and a taste of the real world.

Houses of Parliament & Supreme Court Trip

A Level Law and Politics students have the opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament and Supreme Court to experience the running of parliament and to develop a greater understanding of its history, functions and role in modern British politics.  Year 12 A Level Law student, Nura, reflects on the trip below:   

Visiting Parliament in Westminster and seeing the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Supreme Court was a wonderful experience, especially from the perspective of a Law student. Before gaining access to all three places, we had to go through an airport-style security check. We visited The House of Lords first, with a gold gilded wall and throne for the monarch, embedded with crystals and upholstered with red velvet and other embroidery. From the ceiling hung microphones and the rest of the seats in the house had red leather, giving the room an altogether expensive look to counter the size of it.

The House of Commons, on the other hand, was slightly bigger, with a larger area for the public to view proceedings from, but a lot less impressive than the Lords. The seats were green and the leather thin and heavily cracked. Before I realised we weren’t supposed to sit on those seats, I got to have a momentary seat, and I can say that it was by far the most comfortable thing I’ve ever sat on. Like sitting on a cloud. Far from my expectations!

The Supreme Court had three rooms, each with their own aesthetic: traditional English, even more traditional English and a more technologically modern style. All Supreme Court cases can be heard in any of the rooms and they are all relatively small, needing seats only for the panel of justices and their clerks. There are also small pews and other seating arrangements for the public to view cases from.

During the trip, we had the opportunity to complete a fun workshop simulating the House of Commons and debating whether the death penalty should be reinstated or not. Talking to our local MP for East Surrey Claire Coutinho’s Assistant was also interesting since we got to ask questions about how he got to that position and what his responsibilities were. I was also very excited to find out that a student from Warlingham did work experience with our local MP, Claire Coutinho, which sounds like a fantastic opportunity. I would thoroughly recommend this insightful trip for Law and Politics students.

Assessment Format

Paper 1: The Legal System and Criminal Law

Written examination (2 hrs) consisting of a mix of medium tariff questions, legal scenario and extended response questions.

This paper is worth 33.3% of the overall marks for this qualification.

Paper 2: Law Making and the Law of Tort

Written examination (2 hrs) consisting of a mix of medium tariff questions, legal scenario and extended response questions.

This paper is worth 33.3% of the overall marks for this qualification.

Paper 3: The Nature of Law and Contract Law

Written examination (2 hrs) consisting of a mix of legal scenario and extended response questions. 

This paper is worth 33.3% of the overall marks for this qualification.

Course Entry Requirements

This course requires a Grade 5 or above in GCSE English Language and preferably GCSE Mathematics or any Humanities GCSE.

 

Employability Skills

Employability Skills are essential skills, personal qualities and values that will enable you to thrive in any workplace. Along with good technical understanding and subject knowledge, employers often outline a set of skills that they want from an employee.

This course will help you to develop the following employability skills:

• Communication and advocacy skills.
• An enquiring mind, not to blindly accept what you hear but to challenge, analyse and evaluate ideas afresh.
• Ability to retain a lot of detailed legal information and apply the correct legal principles to problem solve scenario situations.
• Ability to build, support and defend an argument both on paper and verbally.
• Ability to explore and debate rights and wrongs, whys and wherefores.

Next Steps

This course helps students to make an informed choice about whether a career in law is the right option for them.

A Level Law is viewed by universities as a fully academic subject producing high quality candidates.  A significant number of students on this course go onto study Law at university and later use the skills developed to get training contracts, mini pupillages or Legal apprenticeships to train to become a qualified legal professional.

10 Possible Careers

• Barrister
• Business
• Civil Service
• Human Resources
• Journalism
• Legal Executive
• Paralegal
• Police Officer
• Politics
• Solicitor

Student Profile: Adam

Adam's subjects

A Level Geography

A Level History

A Level Law

A Level Maths

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

It was at Warlingham where I discovered my love for Law, through the debating society and the annual debating competitions.  I plan to apply to Durham University to study Law; the Russell Group  programme has helped through every stage of my  future decisions, and will continue to support me throughout my application process.