The Legal Cheek View
Having offered a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate law courses since its formation by Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in 1964, Nottingham Law School (NLS) is one of the more recognisable names on the legal education scene. Housed in the Chaucer Building, the law school is located in the heart of Nottingham at NTU’s city campus.
On offer for undergrads, along with the classic Law LLB, are a staggering number of interesting LLB variations, including a Business Law LLB, International Law LLB, and Law with Psychology LLB to name a few. Popular postgrad offerings include the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDip) and ), as well as a recently revamped Barristers Training Course (BTC). And, for those eager to specialise even further, the law school also runs a range of LLMs from criminal justice to EU law.
A new string to NLS’ bow is its collection of prep courses for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) — a new centralised assessment that first came into force in September 2021 and will ultimately replace the LPC. These SQE preparation courses at NLS are available on a full-time or part-time basis.
Solicitor hopefuls will have a number of options depending on whether they have completed a law or non-law undergrad. For example, law graduates can complete a six-month SQE1 prep course for £4,700 before moving on to an eight-week SQE2 prep course for £3,300. NLS is also offering a range of master’s programmes for law graduates that incorporate SQE prep and are eligible for postgraduate funding. Its most comprehensive LLM covers both SQE1 and SQE2 prep and costs £11,600, while its LLM covering only SQE1 prep costs £8,500.
Non-law grads, meanwhile, are required to complete a longer 18-month SQE LLM which incorporates SQE1 prep for £12,850, before the option of moving on to the SQE2 prep course at £3,300. Luckily for both law and non-law grads, the SQE2 prep course does not require a pass mark on the SQE1 exam – a real saving grace considering the current pass rates!
In a welcome break from COVID-era studying, all teaching on the SQE prep courses (including those taken part-time) will be in person. This is subject, of course, to NLS’s policy of recorded lecture content. Aspiring solicitors at NLS will be required on campus three days per week, with two days of expected preparatory studies. A foundational series of lectures in each module will be complemented by two hour-long weekly workshops on the same material. Students will be expected to test their knowledge through student-focussed debating, discussion, and problem solving during these workshops – a real training ground for hopeful lawyers.
NLS law students can also undertake Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) with the school’s Legal Advice Centre, now dubbed “NLS Legal”. Established in 2006, NLS Legal is a regulated teaching law firm, advising real clients on a wide range of legal issues under the supervision of qualified solicitors. The firm, which is open to all students, is headed up by Laura Pinkney, previous partner at national law firm Cartwright King Solicitors. One student volunteer with NLS Legal tells us that she has “helped out on five NLS Legal cases, three criminal law cases and two family law matters”. She remarks that “it was such hands-on experience that I would be unlikely to get anywhere else.”
For those destined for the wig and gown, NLS’s newly redesigned Bar Training Course (BTC) is an attractive offering. One hopeful barrister at NTU labels the course as “undeniably challenging”. But, she says, the support from tutors at the law school means that “you’re never alone and you always feel supported”.
With small tutor groups, students on the BTC can expect to become “very close”, with peers on hand to “read through your pupillage applications” and “grab a coffee together in the library’s own Starbucks branch”. The BTC at NTU also comes in a one-year LLM variety, allowing students to take out a student loan to partially fund the £15,200 course fees. Hopeful barristers eager to qualify can also choose the slightly shorter BTC (PGDip) over the course of seven months at a cost of £12,650.
One beauty of NLS’ law programmes undeniably lies in its mock courtroom facilities, which are integrated into its law courses through emphasis on practical learning. NLS has three mock courtrooms for criminal, family and civil mock trials which are exact replicas of working courtrooms. These are “really helpful”, according to one interviewee, “because it prepares you really well for qualification”. “When you’re doing advocacy training”, be that at undergrad, on an SQE prep course or undertaking the BTC, “it feels like you’re practising in a real courtroom, without the pressure of handling a real-life case”. These are also used for NLS’s various mooting competitions, on top of the school’s existing three mooting rooms.
Based at NTU’s City centre campus, the NLS location may “sometimes feel not very campus-y”, we are told. But, given its city centre location, it’s “really great” for accessibility. The law school is just a short 20-minute walk from the train station, and there’s a tram stop just outside of the Chaucer Building. It also stands directly opposite the NTU’s Boots library, so there’s “no excuse not to study!” And, the school is just a stone’s throw from the stunning Nottingham Arboretum, Nottingham’s oldest public park which provides a “great place to rest and relax”.
One NLS student interviewee cites the support at the law school, as one of the key attractions of studying there. “The pastoral support on my course has been amazing. Throughout the course, the tutors regularly check-in to see how you’re doing, and to provide occasional hints and tips to get you through your studies.” “It really feels as if they do care”, she tells us, “and they’re not just there to deliver content.”
Outside of studying, there are a plethora of opportunities to get involved with local communities at the university. “I joined the Feminist Society and Women’s Welfare” one student says, “which has inspired me to volunteer with the Safer Living Foundation in conjunction with the law school.” She emphasises that “there are so many opportunities at NTU to gain work experience and to volunteer internally, that you don’t even need to look externally for these roles.”
Courses
Law conversion courses
Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDip)
This course is designed for non-law graduates interested in becoming a solicitor or barrister. The Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) provides you with the foundation of legal knowledge and skills required for your legal training. For aspiring barristers, it satisfies the Bar Standards Board’s academic requirements to permit you to commence the vocational stage of training (e.g. the Barristers Training Course). For aspiring solicitors, it provides a solid grounding in the fundamental legal knowledge and skills required for key parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.
• Full-time: 1 academic year (9 months)
• Distance learning: 2 academic years
• Cost: Full time – £9,300, Distance learning – Year 1: £4,650, Year 2: £4,650
Law and Legal Practice LLM: SQE 1 Preparation Course
This course is designed for non-law graduates interested in becoming a solicitor. The LLM Law and Legal Practice course provides you with the legal knowledge and skills required to prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 assessment, the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Distance learning: 36 months
• Cost: £12,600
Law and Legal Practice LLM: Barristers Training Course
This course provides an opportunity for a non-law graduate to study the seven law foundation subjects and then proceed onto the Barristers Training Course (BTC) with the aim of becoming a Barrister, in a cost effective and time efficient manner. Successful completion will enable you to obtain an internationally recognised Masters qualification by completing compulsory taught modules – all taught at Masters Level, and to be called to the Bar.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Cost: £18,900
SQE courses
Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 Preparation Course
Passing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 is the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor, and the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice is designed to prepare you for this.
• Full-time: 6 months
• Distance learning: 12 months
• Cost: £4,700
Law and Legal Practice LLM: SQE 1 Preparation Course
This course is designed for non-law graduates interested in becoming a solicitor. The LLM Law and Legal Practice course provides you with the legal knowledge and skills required to prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 assessment, the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Distance learning: 36 months
• Cost: £12,600
Professional Legal Practice LLM: SQE 1 Preparation Course
Passing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 is the first step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor, and the LLM Professional Legal Practice is designed to prepare you for this. You should choose the LLM Professional Legal Practice if you want a course that prepares you for SQE1.
• Full-time: 12 months
• Distance learning: 18 months
• Cost: £8,400
Advanced Legal Skills: SQE 2 Preparation Course
Passing the second Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE 2) is an essential step in your route to qualifying as a solicitor, and the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Legal Skills: SQE 2 Preparation Course is designed to prepare you for this.
• Full-time: 8 weeks
• Distance learning: 16-20 weeks
• Cost: £3,300
Advanced Professional Legal Practice LLM: SQE 1 and SQE 2 Preparation Course
Passing the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) 1 and SQE 2 are essential steps in your route to qualifying as a solicitor. The LLM Advanced Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 and SQE 2 Preparation Course is designed to prepare you for both SQE assessments.
• Full-time: 12 months
• Distance learning: 24 months
• Cost: £11,400
Legal Practice Course (LPC)
Legal Practice Course LLM
The course is approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and allows you to progress to qualifying work experience to become a solicitor.
• Full-time: 1 year
• Part-time: 2 years
• Cost: £12,200 (£6,100 per year of study if part time)
Bar Practice Course (BPC)
Law and Legal Practice LLM: Barristers Training Course
This course provides an opportunity for a non-law graduate to study the seven law foundation subjects and then proceed onto the Barristers Training Course (BTC) with the aim of becoming a Barrister, in a cost effective and time efficient manner. Successful completion will enable you to obtain an internationally recognised Masters qualification by completing compulsory taught modules – all taught at Masters Level, and to be called to the Bar.
• Full-time: 18 months
• Cost: £18,900
Barristers Training Course
For students who wish to study the BSB’s compulsory modules in a cost effective and time efficient manner, our Barristers Training Course (BTC) provides the necessary vocational training for the Bar in just six months. Successful completion of this course will enable you to achieve a Postgraduate Diploma and be called to the Bar. Perhaps you have already secured pupillage, are worried about taking too much time out of paid work or are concerned about accommodation costs? The BTC may be ideal for you.
• Full-time: 6 months
• Cost: £12,400
Barristers Training Course LLM
Successful completion of this course enables you to be called to the Bar, and proceed to pupillage. Our nine-month LLM BTC gives you the opportunity to gain the award of a Masters (LLM), assuming successful completion of the BTC and an additional module, Advanced Advocacy, Advice and ADR, which has been created to give you experience of issues that are at the cutting-edge of practice, such as vulnerable witnesses and expert evidence. The LLM qualification is internationally recognised and is eligible for the UK postgraduate government loan. Our LLM incorporates a number of unique, practical elements which are at the forefront of legal practice and which will aid you in your future career.
• Full-time: 9 months
• Cost: £14,900
Locations
Nottingham Law School’s only location is its University campus in Nottingham. Although it does allow distance learning, you are required to attend in-person teaching weekends on its campus.
Scholarships
Nottingham Law School’s Professional Courses Scholarships
Nottingham Law School’s Professional Courses Scholarship for Academic Excellence
This scholarship is awarded to students “who can demonstrate a commitment to and achievement of excellence in their academic background and in other areas such as work and personal life”.
Value: half of your tuition fee
Deadline: closed for September 2023 courses
Nottingham Law School’s Professional Courses Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement
This scholarship is awarded to students “who have overcome significant challenges in their social, personal or educational lives”.
Value: half of your tuition fee
Postgraduate Masters Scholarship for UK students
Postgraduate Masters Scholarship for UK students
This is not available for the GDL, Legal Practice Course, Barristers Training Course
Value: half of your tuition fee
Deadline: closed for September 2023 courses
International Scholarships
NTU Excellence Scholarships, International Scholarships and Regional and Subject Scholarships
This scholarship is awarded to students “who demonstrate excellent achievements and experience and will make a positive contribution to the NTU community”.
You only need to complete the online application form and Nottingham Trent University will assess you for all scholarships you are eligible for.
Deadline: closed for September 2023 courses