Why study Level 3 applied law?
Should a learner driver be judged like an expert? Can you sue over a snail in your drink? Is a jury’s verdict always final?
In applied law you will answer real questions like these by studying real cases. You will find out how the law works in everyday life, from the civil courts to criminal trials.
Applied law is the same size as one A level and carries the same UCAS points, so it fits alongside your other subjects. You don’t need to have studied law before. Along the way you will build the skills universities and employers value most: thinking critically, building an argument, solving problems, researching and writing precisely.
Course type
Level 3 BTEC extended certificate
Examination board
Pearson
Entry requirements
Grade 4 in GCSE English language; plus four other grade 4 (or above) GCSEs (or equivalent)
How will Level 3 applied law be delivered?
| Year | Unit | Topics covered |
| Year 12 | Dispute solving in civil law (exam) | What happens when someone is injured and wants compensation? How civil disputes are settled in court and through alternatives such as mediation, how negligence is proved, and where people can get legal advice and funding. |
| Investigating aspects of criminal law and the legal system (coursework) | How laws are made by Parliament and interpreted by judges. The roles of solicitors, barristers, judges, magistrates and juries. Assault and other non-fatal offences, and how offenders are sentenced. | |
| Year 13 | Applying the law (exam) | Murder and manslaughter; theft, robbery, burglary, fraud and criminal damage; and police powers to stop, search, arrest and detain. You apply the law to realistic case studies, with research material released before the exam. |
| Aspects of tort (coursework) | Going further with civil wrongs. When can people claim for psychiatric injury or purely financial loss? What duties do occupiers owe to visitors and trespassers on their property? When is an employer responsible for an employee’s wrongs? And what happens in neighbour disputes over nuisance, or when something dangerous escapes from land (Rylands v Fletcher)? |
Assessment
- Two examinations
- Two coursework assignments
Future pathways and careers
- University: Law (LLB), Criminology, Policing, Politics, Business and many more
- Apprenticeships: earn while you qualify through paralegal (Level 3), chartered legal executive (Level 6) or solicitor (Level 7) apprenticeships
- Legal careers: solicitor, barrister, chartered legal executive, paralegal
- Criminal justice: police, probation, the prison service, courts and tribunals
- Wider careers: civil service, HR, business, compliance and journalism
