Course Title Advanced GCE in Law

Examination Board OCR 

Subject Code A Level Award H415

Course Content

H415/01 Section A: English Legal System 

This unit examines how the English Legal System works. You will study the workings of the civil and criminal justice systems including the role of magistrates, solicitors, barristers and jurors. You will learn about the process for granting bail and the principles of sentencing. You will visit the local Magistrates’ Court and take part in court room role plays.

H415/01 Section B: Criminal Law 

In this unit you will examine the individual elements of different crimes and defences. You will learn what the prosecution must prove in order to obtain convictions for murder, manslaughter, theft, robbery and burglary, grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm. You will learn about the defences that a defendant may be able to raise, such as self-defence, insanity, intoxication and mistake. You will visit the local Crown Court and observe the most serious criminal cases in action.

H415/02 Section A: Law Making 

In this unit you will learn how Parliament makes laws and how individual citizens can bring about changes and developments to the laws of England and Wales. You will also learn how it is possible for unelected judges to make laws under the common law system and you will learn and use the rules that judges have developed over the centuries to interpret Acts of Parliament.  You will visit the Houses of Parliament to see how the Parliamentary Process works in action.

H415/02 Section B: Law of Tort 

This section covers civil laws such as negligence, nuisance and occupiers’ liability. We also examine the issues of Vicarious liability and the defences and remedies in Tort.

H415/03 Section A: The Nature of Law

This section looks at the nature of law in a wider context, developing an understanding of how law interacts with society, technology, morality and justice. This brings together the different areas of knowledge from across the whole course of study.

H415/03 section B: Contract Law

This option focuses on the central elements of contract law from the formation of contracts to their enforcement. You will develop knowledge and understanding of the law of contract, the skills to apply your legal knowledge to scenario-based situations and gain a critical awareness of the present state of the law of contract

Assessment 

Unit H415/01 Examination in June in Year 13 

One two hour exam consisting of two sections – section A is a choice of two small essay questions from four on the English legal system (25%); section B is a choice of one scenario from two on Criminal law (75%). This paper constitutes 33.3% of the whole qualification.

Unit H415/02 Examination in June in Year 13 

One two hour exam consisting of two sections – section A is a choice of two small essay questions from four on Law Making (25%); section B is a choice of one scenario from two on the law of Tort (75%). This paper constitutes 33.3% of the whole qualification.

Unit H415/03 Examination in June in Year 13 

One two hour exam consisting of two sections – section A is a choice of one essay question from two on the Nature of Law (25%); section B is a choice of one scenario from two on Contract Law (75%). This paper constitutes 33.3% of the whole qualification.

Future Progression 

Law is offered at most leading universities either on its own or in combination with many other subjects such as Psychology, Business, History and Foreign Languages. Russell Group Universities will require a minimum of AAA or AAB for access to most Law degrees, usually with at least one other facilitating subject such as English, History, a Foreign Language or a Science. Each university will have very specific entry requirements and it is worth checking these before choices are made. Other popular progression routes that may be accessed with an A Level in Law include criminology, forensic psychology and journalism.

Careers following a Law degree obviously include those of a barrister or solicitor but for those who want a career outside the legal sector, you will have a great skill set to offer employers, and law graduates are increasingly to be found in a wide variety of fields such as accountancy, banking and finance, the civil service, the police, local government, financial services, the armed forces, management, journalism, or academia.

To succeed in Law

You will need a genuine interest in law either due to your citizenship studies, work experience, watching TV documentaries, news programmes or dramas such as Silk or Suits. In preparation for the A Level Law course, you would benefit from keeping up to date with current criminal trials that are being reported in the national and local media and any high profile bills that are debated in Parliament, such as the recently passed Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.

You will need to enjoy debating controversial topics and reading academic articles from journals, text books and judgements from the higher courts.

You will need to be able to express your ideas and opinions in writing and apply legal theory to specific scenarios and problems.