Exclusive: LSE students outraged after property law exam is brought forward by a whole month

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By Thomas Connelly on

And then moved back to its original date days later

Students at the London School of Economics (LSE) were left seething over the weekend, after being informed that their property law exam was being brought forward by a whole month.

On Friday afternoon, just hours before they were due to break up for Easter, LLB students received an email that said their “Property II” exam — which was originally scheduled for 2 June — would now take place on 2 May. The message, in full below, apologised to those affected for the “disruption”, but failed to offer any explanation as to why the decision had been taken in the first place.

A copy of the email received by LSE law students on Friday

As you can probably imagine the exam date switch did not go down well with LSE’s law student cohort. One, wishing to remain anonymous, told Legal Cheek that the law school’s decision was “outrageous”. Another — who revealed that students had received their finalised exam timetable over a month ago — branded it “unacceptable”.

And these weren’t just isolated pockets of discontent. A petition calling for “the exam to be placed on its original date” has amassed over 400 signatures. Continuing, the online appeal — which was posted on Change.org — states that the date switch is “taking away valuable revision time for students.”

Change.org petition

Now, it would appear LSE bigwigs have bowed to student pressure.

Those affected by the decision received an email (in full below) this morning which confirmed that the property exam would now take place on its original date, 2 June. Apologising “for any distress or worry caused,” the email cites a number of factors that prompted the date change, including the close proximity of other exams and issues finding a large enough venue in London.

A copy of the follow up email received by students this morning

Confirming that the exam would now go ahead on its original date, LSE’s head of law, Jeremy Horder, told Legal Cheek:

The department of law made a recent change to the date set for an examination, after consideration of a variety of concerns about the original date. However, in the light of student objections to the disruption that this change would cause, the department has reinstated the original date for the examination. The department apologises for any worry or confusion that may have been caused.

It would appear the only thing more stressful than taking a law exam is trying to schedule one.

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