Course Description: GCSE

The GCSE course is covered in one year, during which students gain an understanding of the way the law affects individuals, groups and institutions.
They will find out about the ways in which English law is created, administered, and changed, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of legal rules, institutions and procedures in the modern world.

Throughout, students learn the best ways to follow cases through newspapers, television and other sources.

Benefits

• Law is relevant to all of us. This course equips students with knowledge of the legal system that can be used in everyday life. The topics covered are relevant to almost every career from lawyer to nurse, and provide an excellent grounding for the AS / A2 courses.

• Students will develop skills such as time management, how to prioritise tasks and the ability to read and select relevant information from legal texts and arguments.
  

• Students will begin to develop core legal skills such as application and evaluation of the law e.g. through debates and discussions, encouraging them to form and express their opinions on a variety of topics.

“I have enjoyed law immensely, as I got the chance to meet the most amazing and lively tutorial teacher Ruth Millership who has given me positive advice and helped me prepare effectively for exams” Sarah Boston, City of Leeds High School.

Course Description: AS & A2

At AS Level, students study the English Legal system, learning about how laws are made, how they are applied, and the various people working in the profession. This includes looking at the work and role of Parliament and judges, the civil and criminal courts / appeals structure, and the training and work of judges, barristers and solicitors.
At A2 Level, students focus on Criminal Law in detail. This includes the study of the police powers of search, arrest and detention. They look at the elements of crime (actus reus – the guilty act and mens rea – guilty mind), going on to use their knowledge and understanding to study crimes such as murder, manslaughter, ABH and GBH. They also develop an appreciation of various defences that defendants can put forward, along with looking at the different sentences judges can hand out.

Benefits

• Law is relevant to all of us, equipping students with knowledge of the legal system that can be used in everyday life. It is relevant to almost every career from lawyer to nurse, providing students with an advantage if they choose a position in business or law-related professions.
  

• Students will develop core legal skills such as application and evaluation of the law.
  

• AS and A2 Level Law gives the students a thorough foundation for further study in Law or related subjects, and is well regarded in higher education and can be applied to a range of professional careers.

“Heckmondwike School received an award for their NTDL law students who achieved the best results in the country for law in “selective state schools.”
The award was from the Good Schools Guide.”