law leaflet 2013

Law• Lawaffectsallourlivesandisafascinatingsubjectwithsomething

newtolearneveryday

• ExploremanyinterestingandchallengingtopicssuchasCriminalLaw,Negligence,MoralityandJustice

• Thedepartmentisbasedonamutualpartnershipbetweenstaff,learnersandparents/guardians

• StudyingLawisauniqueandenjoyableexperience;individualsarevaluedandacademicexcellenceisachieved

• OpportunitiesfortripsegtoLondonandNewYorkaswellashighereducationdays,competitionsetc

• Providesanexcellentbackgroundforuniversityandcareersnotonlyinlawbutalsoinjournalism,government,PR,teachingandmanagement

25 Yearsof inspiringindividuals

1987-2012

25 Yearsof inspiringindividuals

1987-2012

AS/A2 Level2013 Entry

Chris’ PerspectiveChoosingLawatCarmelwasoneofthebestdecisionsI’veevermade!Thetutorsaresupportiveandalwaysthereforyouwhetherthey’reyourteacherornotandthelessonsarealwaysfun.InthecourseatCarmelwestudyanumberofinterestingtopicssuchas‘murder’and‘conceptsoflaw’whichcanbeappliedtomany,sometimesbizarre,casescenarios.TheBarMockTrialswereafantasticexperienceandallowedmetoactoutmyaspirationofbecomingaBarristerinfrontofrealJudgesinCrownCourt.IhavealsoappliedtotheCarmelLawVocationalProgrammewhichhasprovidedmewithaplacementineitheralegalfirmorasetofChambers,whichwouldhavebeendifficulttogainwithoutthesupportofthecollege.AfterCarmel,IamhopingtostudyLawatLancasterUniversityandhopefullyfulfilmyambitionofbecomingaCriminalBarrister.

Chris PetersWadeDeaconHighSchool

Studying: Law,French,German

Meet the TutorsVicky BryantHeadofDepartment

Karl ReidSubjectTutor

Nicola NewtonSubjectTutor

Exam Board AQA

AS/A2 Law

What is Law?

Lawplaysavitalroleinsociety.Thelawhelpsdefineasociety’svaluesandalsoprovidesameanstosolveproblemsanddisputeswithoutresorttoviolence.AS/A2LawenablesyoutofurtherexploretherelationshipbetweenLaw,SocietyandtheIndividual.

What will the course involve and how is it organised?

ItisunlikelythatyouwillhavestudiedLawbefore,butdon’tworry;thecourseisdesignedtoremoveanyfeelingsofuncertaintyandconfusionthatmayarisefromtakinganewsubject.

Duringthefirstyearofstudy(AS)youwillbeintroducedtotheEnglishLegalSystemasawhole.Youwillalsolookindepthatnon-fataloffencessuchasABHandGBHandusethisknowledgetoapplytovariousscenarios.Thecoursewillbedeliveredthrougharangeofteachingandlearningstylesandwillfocusonthedevelopmentofthenecessaryessaywritingandproblemsolvingskillsyouwillneedtoachievesuccessintheexams.TheAScourseconsistsof2examinedmodules.

Duringthesecondyearofstudy(A2)youwillbeginamoreindepthstudyofareasofsubstantiveLaw.Thiswillincludelearningthelawontopicssuchasmurder,manslaughterandtheft.Youwilllearntoevaluatetheseandapplythemtoascenario.TheA2courseconsistsof2examinedmodules.

How will I be assessed?

Thecourseisassessedby4externalmodularexams,2intheASyearandthen2atA2Level.Theexamsvaryinlengthbetween1.5and2hours.ThereisnocourseworkatallinLaw.YouwilltakeoneexaminJanuaryandoneexaminJuneofeachyear.

What will this course prepare me for and where will it lead?

Thecourseencouragesyoutodeveloptheskillsnecessarytoanalyseandsolveproblemsbyapplyingrulesandtodeveloptheabilitytocommunicateargumentsandconclusionsclearlyandsuccinctly.Itwillhelpyousubstantiateargumentsanddevelopanenquiringandcriticalmind.Assuch,LawatCarmelprovidesanexcellentbackgroundforuniversityandcareersnotonlyinlaw,butalsoinjournalism,localandcentralgovernment,publicrelations,teaching,andarangeofmanagementandbusinessareas.

How can I enrich my Law studies?

LawissuchadynamicsubjectthatyouwillhavemanyopportunitiestoenrichyourstudiessuchasvisitingtheCrownCourtsinLiverpoolandtheHousesofParliamentatWestminsterinLondon;attendingHigherEducationDays;participatingin‘AtasteofLawSchool’withSheffieldUniversity.Otheractivitiesmayincludeapplyingforaplaceonthelawvocationalprogramme,enteringtheNationalMockTrialCompetitionorparticipatinginaSpeakingCompetitionwhichinvolvesgivingatalkatLiverpoolJohnMooresUniversity.StudentsoverthelastfewyearshavealsohadtheopportunitytotakeatriptoNewYorkwheretheyvisitedanightcourtandwentontoursoftheUnitedNationsandNYPDmuseum.

Russell Jones wins Public Speaking comp

Maisie’s PerspectiveCarmelnotonlyhasafriendlyandwelcomingatmosphere,itallowsstudentstoreachtheirfullpotentialinordertopursuetheiraspirationsforthefuture,withtheconstantsupportandadvicefromthestaffandanarrayofresourcesavailabletobenefitfrom.IparticularlyenjoystudyingLaw,andapplyingmyknowledgeofthelawtoscenarios.NotonlydowelookatCriminalandCivilLaw,westudyhowthelegalsystemoperatesandareabletoanalyseandcriticisethis.TheLawdepartmentofferssomuchsupporttoallitsstudents-personalsupportwithtutorials,severalopportunitiessuchastheNationalMockTrial,tripstotheHousesofParliament,guestspeakers,aswellastherecentLawVocationalProgrammeenablingstudentstointerviewforplacementsatlocallawfirms.AfterleavingCarmel,IplantostudyLawandFrenchatuniversity.

Maisie AndrewsStGregory’sCatholicHighSchool

Studying: Law,Spanish,French

What support will I receive?

AtCarmelweencourageyoutodevelopasanindependentlearner.Thisdoesnotmeanhoweverthathelpisnotavailable.Wearecommittedtosupportingallourlearnerstoachievetheirpersonalbest.Supportisofferedviaone-to-onehelp,homeworkclubandgrouptutorials.Weevenofferane-mailmarkingservice!Arangeofsupportmaterialsisavailablebothtosimplifydifficultconcepts,andtoextendyourlearningsoyoushouldneverbewithouttheappropriatesupport!

What is the department like?

Lawisanestablishedandthrivingdepartment,withover200students.LawistaughtinwellresourcedASandA2bases.Thedepartmenthasitsownintranetsitetoassiststudentstudy.StudentsspendalotoftheirfreetimeintheLawdepartmentparticipatinginenrichmentactivitiesandtutorials.Linkshavebeenforgedwithfirmsofsolicitors,barristerschambersandlocallawenforcementagenciesthroughthecommunityinvolvementprojects,legalprofessionalsandcourts.

Carmel Law Vocational

Programme

TheLawDepartmenthassetupaprogrammewherebothU6thandL6thstudentsareinvitedtoapplyforaplacementataSolicitor’sfirmorBarrister’sChambersforaperiodof3-5days.ThisisafantasticopportunityforourstudentsasnotonlydoesitgivethemlinkstoLawfirms,butitwillalsohelpthemwhenapplyingtostudyatUniversity.

Law students participating in the Bar National Mock Trial Competition at Liverpool Crown Court.

How successful are Carmel’s Law students?

Theanswertothisquestionisasimpleone,VERY!SincetheLawdepartmentwasestablishedin2000,academicexcellencehasbeenatthecoreofthedepartment’svision.Eachyearourstudentsachievesignificantlyabovethenationalaverageacrossallgradeboundaries.2012’sresultswereasfollows:

A*-B A*-C A*-E

A2 LAW 68% 96% 99%

AS LAW 61% 80% 97%

AlmostallofourLawyersgainedentrytotheirfirstchoiceofuniversityandmanyhavedecidedtodeveloptheirstudyofLawfurthereitherthroughHigherEducationorVocationalTraining.

1. Law is relevant toallaspectsofeverydaylife.AtCarmel,reallifescenariosareusedtocontextualisecomplexissues.

2. Knowledge of current affairs isdevelopedbyreferencetoissuesreportedinthenews.AtCarmelweencourageyoutokeepalegaljournalrecordingarticlesfromtheTimesLawReportseachTuesday.

3. Going to courtisnotjustanactivityforoffendersandlawyers,butanactivityforallofourCarmellearners.VisitstotheCrownCourtandMagistratesCourtareintegratedintothedeliveryofthecourse.

4. Knowledge of how and why law changes isusefulbackgroundknowledgeforawholerangeofsubjectsincludingPsychology,Sociology,History,BusinessandPolitics.AtCarmel,weencouragecrosscurriculalinksandencouragelearnerstobringknowledgefromothersubjectsintotheirwork.

5. Improves communication skills. Alllawyersneedtobeabletoformulateastrongargument.AtCarmel,weencourageyoutotakepartinmanydebates,presentationsandroleplaystodevelopyourabilityto‘thinkonyourfeet’.

6. Learning not to take everything at face value isausefulskill.AtCarmel,weencourageyoutodevelopanalyticalskillsbyquestioningdecisionsincases,anddevelopinga‘friendlycriticaleye’.

7. Inmanysituationsithelpstobeabletodistinguish the important issues fromtheunimportantissues,especiallywhendebatingorpresentinganargument.AtCarmel,weencourageyoutotakepartintheNationalMockTrialCompetition,whichwillenableyoutodistinguishbetweendifferenttypesofevidence.

8. Improves critical thinking skills.AtCarmelweencourageyoutochallengethevalidityofthelawanditsinstitutions.

9. Improves problem solving skills.ThreeoutofthefourmoduleswestudyatCarmelfocusonproblemsolvingskillsfromidentificationofoffences,throughtosentencing.Problemsolvingskillsarerequiredineveryaspectoflifeandcanbetransferredtoanyothersubject!

10. TostudyLawatuniversityyoudonotneedALevelLaw–BUTITHELPS.

More InformationTofindoutmoreabouteachofthemodulesortolookatthefullspecificationforthecourse,visitwww.aqa.org.uk andchoosespecifications,AS/A2followedbyLaw.

ContactanymemberoftheLawteaminperson,oremail:vickyb@carmel.ac.uk

London Trip

London Trip

London Trip

New York Trip

New York Trip

Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat are the entry requirements for AS Law?

YouwillneedGCSEgradeBinEnglishLanguage.

Do universities accept Law A Level? I have been told that they don’t!

ThisisacommonquestionandthesimpleanswerisYEStheydo!AlluniversitiesacceptLawALevel,infactsomepreferyoutohaveit.AsLawisnotofferedinallSixthFormColleges/SchoolsetctheydonotrequireyoutohaveLawALevel,butitcan’tbedenied,ithelps!

What subjects should I choose to complement Law?

ItlinksparticularlywellwithEnglishLiterature,Psychology,BusinessStudies,Sociology,PoliticsandHistory.However,throughLaw’sliterateandlogicalaspects,itcomplementsvirtuallyanysubject.

Ten Reasons to choose Law at Carmel