The City Law School

As part of The City Law School’s SQE offering, students complete two 10-week terms covering everything you need to pass SQE1 and SQE2. The optional LLM adds an additional five-week term, during which students submit a research project in their preferred area of legal practice. The course is full-time with a mix of face-to-face teaching and online blended learning.

Another strong offering comes in the shape of the School’s Bar Vocational Studies (BVS) programme. Able to boast of being the provider of the original bar course (City began life as the Inns of Court School of Law in 1852), it has a great deal of prestige and history to accompany its modern teaching. As one City student puts it: “They wrote the textbooks.” Indeed, City’s course manuals, which are authored by its lecturers, are used by other bar course providers. Among those lecturers is Professor Stuart Sime, one of the country’s leading authorities on civil procedure, who students rave about.

For those without pupillage, there is an active careers service. Students can use the School’s Pupillage Advisory Service (PAS) to make appointments to discuss the application process and have mock interviews. There are also regular events with practitioners from the many nearby chambers popping in to give talks about how to make it into the profession. This is a major plus of doing the bar course at CLS in London.

While not (quite) the most expensive, the City BVS doesn’t come cheap. Students understandably struggle with the cheapest course coming in with a £17,090 price tag. When combined with the cost of living in the capital, it means the course is out of reach of many unless they have secured a scholarship (from the Inns of Court or City directly).

In terms of the quality of teaching, one recent graduate praises the “supportive and really useful approach” adopted by their tutors. “The tutors are really good at letting you know exactly what the exams will require from you, and giving useful and constructive feedback. They’re also able to draw on their own experiences in practice to give us an insight into what we’re studying is like in the real world. This was particularly useful looking at training contracts and other jobs, as often what you study can sometimes be misleading, either in making an area sound more interesting than it is, or more often, making it seem less interesting than in practice.”

As for where you’ll be studying, the students we spoke to had nothing but praise to offer for City’s new £68 million law school campus which it moved into in 2021. “The law library is absolutely incredible” said one, highlighting the “really modern, nice, quiet spaces available.” It features all the necessary materials required for the various courses, as well as a swanky selection of standing desks and computers. That’s if you need the library at all; all resources are provided online for seamless study at home or on campus. We also hear that the seminar and study rooms are modern, well-equipped and a good space to learn in, and that there are even special advocacy rooms on site for students to record and replay advocacy performances, as well as a swish mock courtroom boasting floor to ceiling windows. The real world may come as a step down after this. Overall, the facilities, we’re told, are all round “modern, organised and spacious.”

After closing the prep books for the day, or during a lunchtime break, the Law School’s location also offers a great deal of practicality. Located in Clerkenwell, on the north edge of the City of London, between Farringdon and Islington, there is a local Starbucks, every supermarket imaginable, and a plethora of Pret a Mangers, all within a short walk. This is in addition to the well-stocked canteen and sandwich shop on site that students apparently can’t stop raving about. Whilst we’re told that the local ‘Spoons has shuttered, one student, fighting back their tears, did let us know that there are still plenty of local spots around for grabbing cheap food and drink. If you needed any more persuading, there is also a cinema nearby, and a well-equipped uni gym & sports facilities.

Once you’ve grabbed a snack, The City Law School has its own socialising spaces for students. These we’re told are great and multifunctional, and serve as a good place to socialise with friends, eat, or engage in some casual working. The atmosphere is reported to be buzzing and enjoyable, giving students a place where they can unwind from the rigours of studying.

An added bonus of this location, both for studying and socialising, is its accessibility, being connected to a number of tube lines for those living within the capital, and just a short walk away from both Angel and Farringdon stations for those commuting in.

Outside of the classroom, the law school runs a plethora of events for its budding barristers and soon-to-be solicitors. Students have told us of networking events with different law firms and chambers from across London and elsewhere, as well as advertised work experience and job opportunities – ideal for that all-important qualifying work experience! This is in addition to the mentorship scheme that students can’t seem to get enough of, pairing students with a practising lawyer to offer career and application guidance.

All of this is in addition to the City’s LawBore information site, Future Solicitor Advisory Service (FSAS), PAS and opportunities run through the school’s ‘Law in Real Life’ programme. The latter includes several pro bono clinics, namely the Company Insolvency Pro Bono Scheme, and the City Community Legal Advice Centre, as well as pre-arranged court visits and mock trials. Whatever your cup of legal tea, then, there’s something for everyone! Perhaps most uniquely, also on offer is the School Exclusion Project, allowing students to represent parents challenging their child’s permanent school exclusion before appeal hearings.

As for the learning environment and peer groups, students have assured us that the cliquey atmosphere that can be found at other providers is nowhere to be seen. “Really it’s not a thing at City” one recent grad explains. “Everyone just gets along really well, and some people and classes become such good friends that they end up going on holiday together!”