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Best a levels for law?

Hey, what are the the best a levels for law?
Thanks in advance

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I would say to choose 'traditional subjects' like English Literature, Math and History
Reply 2
You are likely to hear lots of advice from people with no direct experience. I have relevant experience and am currently a teacher of A Level Law. The answer is you can take ANY A'levels (except critical thinking, citizenship & general studies), none are better than the other. Your main consideration should be which will you likely get the highest grade in, when you apply for training contracts to apply to top firms you will need high UCAS points, they are unconcerned with the fact that you took harder subjects such as economics which is why your grades are lower than the candidate with business studies A Level for example. Don't listen to advice saying A Level Law is a waste of time, universities such as Oxford, Birmingham, Warwick and Kings College all accept both the A Level and BTEC Level 3 law and I have had students going to ll these destinations and more to study Law Degrees. The good thing about doing law at A level is that it gives you a grounding and foundation in the subject and also helps you decide if it for you or not before committing to a university course, bear in mind tht the AQA specification is the one that is more in line with university study.
Reply 3
There aren't any specifics.

You can go full out essay subjects, you can go full out sciences to keep your options open if you really want to.
Original post by chubbyvik
Hey, what are the the best a levels for law?
Thanks in advance


You can take any subjects (apart from things like general studies or course).
Good subjects to consider might be history, english literature, maths and geography.

Just a warning though- some unis dont like you to do law at a-level if you are planning on doing it at uni.
Reply 5
Traditional subjects will be best. Whatever you do, do not study A-level Law
as some universities tend to think it misguides you when studying at the degree level.
Reply 6
As other have said, traditional subjects are safest and keep your options open if you change your mind.

There are some useful comments here:

http://l2b.thelawyer.com/home/question-of-the-week/what-a-levels-should-i-take/1010841.article
Reply 7
Original post by Emma:-)
You can take any subjects (apart from things like general studies or course).
Good subjects to consider might be history, english literature, maths and geography.

Just a warning though- some unis dont like you to do law at a-level if you are planning on doing it at uni.

As I said earlier you will get the misguided 'do not study A Level law' please see link to show universities that do not mind ALevel law http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-2160-W-UNI-LAW.PDF as you will see the list includes Oxford & Cambridge!
Original post by MsBenj
As I said earlier you will get the misguided 'do not study A Level law' please see link to show universities that do not mind ALevel law http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-2160-W-UNI-LAW.PDF as you will see the list includes Oxford & Cambridge!


My friend was advised by old head of 6th form at the time not to do a-level law if doing it at uni.
Reply 9
Original post by Euler4521
Traditional subjects will be best. Whatever you do, do not study A-level Law
as some universities tend to think it misguides you when studying at the degree level.

Absolute nonsense! http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-2160-W-UNI-LAW.PDF
Reply 10
Original post by Emma:-)
My friend was advised by old head of 6th form at the time not to do a-level law if doing it at uni.

I know 'advice' from a teacher with no experience of the industry however the university admissions and legal profession say differently! I know which I would rely on.
Reply 11
I really doubt many places mind you doing Law A level, as long as your other subjects are appropriate to the course i.e. demonstrates logical thinking, evaluative essay writing etc.
Original post by MsBenj
I know 'advice' from a teacher with no experience of the industry however the university admissions and legal profession say differently! I know which I would rely on.


I know what you mean.
My head of 6th form was a bit of a tit- well i thought she was anyway (i dont know about anyone else).
But at the time when we where just about to start year 12, when head of 6th forms say things like that, you believe them.
Needless to say, my friend took it anyway. Didnt take much notice of how he got on applying to uni though so i cant comment on if the unis said anything.


Well its subjective to the Exam board A level Law is taught on. Also there are plenty of universities who see A level Law as a disadvantage so that's why I'm saying it's best to stick with an A-level such as English Literature rather then Law. But if those universities say so, then cool.
There is some really poor advice in this thread by people who (a) are biased and (b) should know better.
Reply 15
Original post by Euler4521
Well its subjective to the Exam board A level Law is taught on. Also there are plenty of universities who see A level Law as a disadvantage so that's why I'm saying it's best to stick with an A-level such as English Literature rather then Law. But if those universities say so, then cool.

Another misconception, it is not seen as a disadvantage however they say it is not an advantage as you will generally cover the topics again in greater detail during year 1. Having said that through experience those having taken A Level law are more aware of what they are taking on and therefore less likely to dropout, also having a bit of knowledge before going into greater detail never harmed anyone.
Reply 16
Original post by Old_Simon
There is some really poor advice in this thread by people who (a) are biased and (b) should know better.

If referring to me I am not biased, I have over 10 years experience practising law prior to becoming a teacher partly due to the frustration of seeing young people being given very shoddy advice from teachers with no experience of anything but schools. I am just sharing evidence that often is hidden particularly from institutions that do not offer Law, I have no reason to be biased if I do not work as a teacher I can easily go back to my previous occupation and get paid more money. I do have reason to show the facts and evidence to students who wish to study law particularly as facts & evidence are the foundation of such a profession.
Original post by MsBenj
Another misconception, it is not seen as a disadvantage however they say it is not an advantage as you will generally cover the topics again in greater detail during year 1. Having said that through experience those having taken A Level law are more aware of what they are taking on and therefore less likely to dropout, also having a bit of knowledge before going into greater detail never harmed anyone.


But since it is not an advantage nor disadvantage to take A-level Law, aside from the extra-knowledge, it still seems more appropriate to take a stronger A-level in replacement to Law.
Original post by MsBenj
If referring to me I am not biased, I have over 10 years experience practising law prior to becoming a teacher partly due to the frustration of seeing young people being given very shoddy advice from teachers with no experience of anything but schools. I am just sharing evidence that often is hidden particularly from institutions that do not offer Law, I have no reason to be biased if I do not work as a teacher I can easily go back to my previous occupation and get paid more money. I do have reason to show the facts and evidence to students who wish to study law particularly as facts & evidence are the foundation of such a profession.

Well it would be very surprising if a person teaching A level law did not think it was a "good" A level. It is not.
I couldn't disagree more with the people who think it's a bad idea to do a level law before doing it for university - all of my law-taking friends while I took law said that they found criminal law very easy because it was a repeat of a hefty chunk of what they had already studied

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