Law

 
 

Law is a useful stepping-stone for our students, bridging the gap between the legal elements they will have covered in their Citizenship studies, and developing this knowledge to prepare them for how legal practice operates in the wider world. Many students who study this course will perhaps have aspirations of future careers in the legal sector, for which the course covers career options in detail, but for others it is lure of studying a dynamic subject where students will find themselves discussing real-life case law, from murder cases to human rights issues, that draws students in.

The curriculum covers the details of Legal Systems in England and Wales, allowing students to gain in-depth understanding for the way that our Court systems work at the local level, as well as how nationally relevant cases can be taken up to the highest courts in the land. Students will also develop upon their understanding of Law Making, continuing from Parliamentary law making as covered in Citizenship, to also include how laws may be made on a local level, or in response to emergency situations. For many students the highlight of the course is in the Criminal Law topics – including violent offences, homicide, and property offences, as well as defences such as insanity and intoxication. Students will also develop a wider understanding of their roles as citizens by looking into Human Rights protections in the UK and Europe, and will analyse case examples where these rights may have been infringed by different governments.

Law is a rewarding but challenging subject,  which will cover some stretching concepts in terms of the language used and the skills required to respond to exam questions. Students can expect to learn some Latin in the Law classroom, and will also find that that they are taught to think like a practicing lawyer, giving advice to clients in scenarios similar to the real-life case law they will study. Law uses school wide initiatives like the 4Rs to help the learners focus on the key aspects that they may find challenging, and the curriculum is designed so that knowledge is interleaved and appropriately spaced to help students to retain the vast amount of new content they will be covering. Regular assessment supports both the learners progress in the course but also their wider understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens. 

Subject Overview