Number of places: 168 FT, 72 PT

Fees (2011/12):£8,400

The law school is located on Manchester Metropolitan's main campus in the city; in addition to dedicated LPC facilities, students enjoy the benefits of being part of a university – the law school being a stone's throw away from the student union. Though facing strong competition from national providers BPP and COL who entered the market a few years ago, Man Met remains competitive. This can be explained in part due to its LPC fees, which are substantially lower than either of its rivals.

The workshop-based course is taught to groups of 16 to 20 students, with classes spanning two to three hours and backed up by online tutorials. For full-timers a two or three-day teaching week can be expected, whereas part-time students come in one day a week, normally Wednesdays. Former students really enjoyed their time at Man Met, commenting: “It's absolutely brilliant but quite intense; really practical and really involved, it prepares you quite well for a training contract.” The school is proud that it produces its own materials, which are constantly reviewed and updated. All teaching staff have been practitioners, with some still in practice and coming from all types of firms, from Linklaters and Addleshaw Goddard to high-street and in-house teams. As for students, many come from the North West and Northern Ireland, and a number are MMU grads electing to stay and take advantage of the 10% fee discount on offer. Students from Trinidad and Tobago also constitute a significant minority. They tend to complete their LPC in the UK before returning home to practise.

UK leavers go on to a range of firms and there’s a dedicated adviser to help them along the way. Monthly e-mails detailing law firm vacancies, CV clinics and careers talks all help good students to gain a coveted training contract. MMU is also validated to offer an LLM in Legal Practice. There’s also a mentoring scheme and a guest speaker programme involving practitioners. Students opting for the Housing elective, as well as several others, can boost their CVs through a work experience week, either at the CAB or in local government. There’s also a chance to get involved in pro bono, including POPs, a charity that helps the partners of prisoners via an advice centre and a court family support service; the personal support unit at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre; and the Manchester Mediation Service for those keen to learn more about ADR. These pro bono opportunities are wildly popular among students and can be competitive.