Ms P Reece-Davies (Video Conferencing Tutor)

At AS and A2, girls follow the WJEC course.

The Units are:

1. Legal Concepts, Sources and Methodology

2. Machinery of Justice

3. Personnel

4. The Role of Law in Law Enforcement; Crime and Society

5. Principles of Criminal Justice; Police Powers

6. Role of the Courts and Sentencing.

A Level Law is the study and enjoyment of the English Legal System and the Criminal Law.

At AS Level students study the English Legal system, learning about how laws are made, how they're 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. Throughout the year, students will develop important study skills, such as time-management, how to prioritise tasks and the ability to read and select relevant information from legal texts and arguements. They will also begin to develop core legal skills such as application and evaluation of the law, for example, through debates and discussions - encouraging them to form and express their opinionson a variety of topics.

At A2, 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 understandingto study the 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. Throughout their studies, studentsare encouraged to use their legal skills to , for example, identify any offence(s) committed, and then prove a defendant's guilt or innocence.

Studying Law will help to give students the ability to analyse and evaluate issues within the English Legal System, and how these tie in with their every-day lives. They will appreciate that Law is present in almost everything they do from buying a newspaper in a shop to the legalisation of cannabis. Students will be guided as to how to understand key legal principles inherent in legal study that will serve them for future study of both law-related and non law-related courses. They will develop independent learning skills that will assist them in their A Level studies, as well as in higher education / the workplace, along with building their confidence in class and their ability to construct and articulate arguements.

Video conferencing allows small group tutorials, supported by self-study materials that promote independent learning skills. Students should be prepared to read quality newspapers in order to develop their knowledge of how the Law functions in daily life and then bring this knowledge to the classroom.