Number of places: 60 FTE

Fees (2011/12):£8,370

Formerly known as Thames Valley University, UWL's law school is to be found in the leafy London suburb of Ealing. Surrounded by several parks, it is a relaxed place to study yet near enough to the buzz of the city centre (about 40 minutes by underground) for students to enjoy it after class. In 2011, we are one year on from the introduction of the LPC3 and the return of the part-time course at UWL as well as a redesign of the Business Law & Practice module. This was cut back in 2010 to concentrate more on Criminal Litigation and Property Law & Practice, better reflecting the destination of UWL’s successful students. They join firms and organisations handling everything from social welfare and legal aid to property and high-street practice and occasionally commercial law. Available electives mirror this diversity. A top-up LLM can also be studied for.

Around half of LPC students come from the undergraduate course or GDL at the university, taking advantage of a fee discount, although there are a number of international students too. Students are predominantly taught through workshops in groups of around 20 rather than lectures, with fewer in the elective groups. Full-timers can expect to be in for two and a half days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and part of Wednesday), while those on the part-time course attend one day per week, with an additional evening in year two. The elective stage has been reshuffled to benefit those who are working or have other commitments; workshops last longer so that full-time students are only in for one day a week. UWL runs a community advice programme in conjunction with Ealing Racial Equality Council, where students can get involved with fortnightly surgeries. A mini-careers module on the LPC ensures that students’ CVs, applications and interview skills are up to scratch. They can also take advantage of a mentoring and work experience scheme. A former student who now runs their own firm offers several current students summer work experience. The school has contacts with the Middlesex Law Society, where students can attend lectures, and there are regular talks from practitioners and organisations such as the Land Registry. As a small law school, tutors “get to know students very well, there's an individual level of feedback and staff can use their contacts to put students out there when they are performing well.”