Many students looking at their A Level choices ask: what is A Level Law? It’s a qualification that introduces you to the English legal system and the principles that underpin it. It is a challenging but highly rewarding subject that develops critical thinking, analytical writing and the ability to apply legal rules to real-world scenarios. Whether you’re considering a career in law or simply want to understand how the legal system works, A Level Law is an excellent choice.
What do you study in A Level Law?
A Level Law covers a broad range of topics across three papers. While the exact content varies slightly between AQA and OCR, the core areas are largely the same.
The Nature of Law and the English Legal System
Your first area of A Level Law introduces you to how law is created, interpreted and applied in England and Wales. You’ll study the sources of law, including Acts of Parliament, case law and delegated legislation, and how the courts system is structured. You’ll also look at the people who work within the legal system, from judges and barristers to solicitors and the role of juries.
This gives you the foundations you need for the rest of the course. A strong grasp of how law works in practice makes the later, more complex topics much easier to navigate.
Criminal Law and Tort
The second area of the course moves into the substantive content: the laws that govern specific areas of life.
Criminal law looks at offences including murder, manslaughter, assault and theft, and asks you to apply the relevant legal rules to different scenarios. You’ll need to understand both the actus reus (the guilty act) and the mens rea (the guilty mind) behind each offence, as well as the defences available to defendants.
Tort law covers civil wrongs, which are situations where one person causes harm to another outside of a contract. Negligence is the central topic here, and you’ll study landmark cases like Donoghue v Stevenson and Caparo Industries v Dickman to understand how the law has developed over time.
Optional Units
Paper 3 gives you the opportunity to go deeper into either contract law or human rights law, depending on your exam board. This is where we think A Level Law gets particularly interesting. You’ll be applying everything you’ve learned to more complex legal problems and developing your own arguments on human rights and contract issues.
How is A Level Law assessed?
Both AQA and OCR assess A Level Law through three written papers, each taken at the end of Year 13. There is no coursework, so your final grade is entirely exam-based. This makes consistent revision throughout sixth form essential.
Examiners are looking for three things in your answers:
- Accurate knowledge of the law and how it is set out in England.
- The ability to apply it to scenarios.
- Evaluation of how well the law works in practice.
It’s been said in many examiner reports that the best A Level Law answers combine all three convincingly. You’re best getting to grips with how to answer these essays as early as possible in your studies so that the essay technique becomes natural.
Is A Level Law hard?
A Level Law has a reputation for being a content-heavy subject, and that reputation is fairly earned. There are a lot of cases and some laws to learn, paired with the ability to recall and apply them accurately under exam conditions takes practice. However, students who engage with the subject consistently (rather than trying to cram at the end) tend to find it very manageable and enjoyable.
The key skills are reading carefully, writing precisely, and practising exam questions regularly. If you can do those three things, A Level Law will be a great fit!
How to revise for A Level Law
The most important revision tool for A Level Law is a solid bank of key cases. For every topic you study, you should know the name of the case, the key facts, the legal principle it established, and how to apply it. Flashcards work well for this.
Beyond cases, practise applying the law to problem scenarios. Examiners set questions that give you a situation and ask you to advise a party. The more of these you complete, the more natural the structure becomes.
Luckily, Study Dog is here to help with our A Level Law resources. We’ve split the course up into manageable lessons, with key cases included, alongside quizzes and practice papers to ensure you are hitting the mark.
