Interested in applying for Sixth Form at Holcombe Grammar School in September 2025?
To apply for a place at our Sixth Form for September 2025, please click here.
To apply for a place at our Sixth Form for September 2025, please click here.
This course is designed to encourage students to develop their knowledge and understanding of how our law is made, how our legal system operates and the fundamentals behind both criminal and civil liability. Students will also gain an understanding of legal method and reasoning, develop techniques of logical reasoning and analytical skills, and solve problems by applying legal rules.
Students will sit three papers at the end of the two years:
Paper 1 (2 hours) a written exam – 33.3%- The Legal System and Criminal Law
Paper 2 (2 hours) a written exam – 33.3%- Law Making and Tort
Paper 3 (2 hours) a written exam – 33.3%- The Nature of Law and Contract
The Legal System and Criminal Law:
2 hour exam includes;1 x 8 mark question; 1 x 12 mark question; 3 x 20 mark questions
This unit involves looking at how our legal system works, who works within it and their roles, and how criminals are punished for their crimes. In this unit, we also learn how guilt in a criminal case is established and study a range of criminal offences from assault to murder and many in between!
Law Making and Tort:
2 hour exam includes;1 x 8 mark question; 1 x 12 mark question; 3 x 20 mark questions
This unit focuses on how our law is made and by whom. We look at the different law makers ranging from Parliament to judges and the processes they use for making and changing our law. This unit also explores the rules and principles concerning liability in civil law, including how to establish negligence, occupier’s liability, nuisance and vicarious liability.
The Nature of Law and Contract:
2 hour exam includes; 4 x 20 mark questions
This unit delves in to major themes such as how, and if, morals affect and shape our law and whether they should do so; whether our law is, and should be just; how technology is impacting our law and much more! Also in this unit, we study the law surrounding making and breaking contracts and what our rights and remedies are as citizens.
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Term 5 | Term 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Introduction to Law P2: Law Making - Parliament’s law making P2: Law Making – Delegated Legislation P1: Elements of the Legal System – Civil Courts and ADR P1: Criminal Law – Actus Reus/Mens rea P1: Criminal Law – Non-fatal offences | P2: Law Making – Statutory Interpretation P2: Judicial Precedent P2: Law Making – Law Reform P1: Elements of the Legal System – Criminal Courts and Lay people P1: The Legal System – Juries P1: Access to Justice P1: Criminal Law – Non-fatal offences P1: Criminal Law – Murder | P2: Tort Law – Introduction P2: Tort Law – Theory of rules P2: Tort Law – Negligence P1: Voluntary manslaughter: Diminished responsibility/Loss of self control P1: Criminal Law – Involuntary Manslaughter | P2: Tort Law – Occupiers’ Liability P2: Tort Law – Vicarious Liability P2: Tort Law – Private nuisance P1: Criminal Law – Defences (evaluation)
| P2: Tort Law - Remedies P1: Criminal Law – Revision P2: Tort Law – Revision | P3: Contract Law – Introduction P3: The Nature of Law – Introduction/Rules and Theories |
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Term 5 | Term 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Re-cap over P1/P2 topics P3: The Nature of Law - Law and Morality P3: Contract Law - Formation | P3: Nature of Law – Law and Justice P3: Contract Law – Offer and Acceptance P3: Contract Law – Intention to create legal relations P3: Contract Law – Privity of Contract P3: Contract Law – Express/Implied Terms 1 | P3: Nature of Law - Society P3: Contract Law - Vitiating factors P3: Contract Law - Discharge of contract (Performance/ P3: Remedies | P1: Criminal Law – Revision P2: Tort Law – Revision P1: Criminal Law – Revision P2: Tort Law – Revision P3: Revision | Revision and Examinations | Examinations |
Please see attached Key Stage 5 Learning Journey for Law.
The study of law provides a strong and useful base for the further study of law at degree level. It also enables you to gain skills (analysis, critical thinking, reasoning) which would be of benefit in many other degrees. Studying Law at A level will show an employer that you can think independently and ‘on your feet’.
British Values feature in many aspects of the course that we deliver within the Law curriculum. As such, these themes appear in many topics that are studied throughout the course. As part of our A-level course, all aspects of the Legal System, how the laws of our country are made, Criminal Law and The Nature of Law cover in some depth the British values as well as the importance of these laws in determining British liberties and freedoms. The role of legislation and regulation is taught within all topics and referred to in lessons regularly by examining the impact these have on specific criminal/civil law and society as a whole.
In particular, students examine how governments can use punishment through fines etc., rules, guidelines, constraints to change the behaviour of society, e.g. minimum wage, compulsory taxes, smoking in public, wearing seatbelts/crash helmets etc. Students develop an understanding of what laws they need to follow in order to behave in an ethical manner, especially in their A2 year studying Law and Morality. When students study The Nature of Law, Contract Law and Tort Law, they analyse the impact of mutual respect, tolerance and fairness which society as a whole must abide by. They study the impact this could have on people’s lives and their reputation. The A-level curriculum leads to discussions on how different ethnic groups and religious beliefs help contribute to the overall success of the way in which the UK is run, which are key to students understanding of how every individual has a place in current society. In A-level, students examine political and legal environments which helps them to understand the effects UK and EU law can have on the English Legal System. Students learn about the impact of not following these EU and UK laws and the impact this has on the decision made in Court.