Law

Part 1: Opening ambition and philosophy 

Law is the exploration of the English Legal System, it considers the rules underpinning our democratic legal system, as well as focusing on criminal law, tort law, and contract law. Students will explore and scrutinise the law, considering how legal rules and principles apply to real life. In doing so, our students develop their analytical ability, decision making, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These skills transverse many subjects and are highly sought after for further study and employment. Law also involves understanding theory behind why laws are necessary and why they have evolved into their current form, through the study of ‘The Nature of Law’ students will explore the moral underpinning of legal rules and whether our system truly achieves justice.  

Studying law gives students an awareness and appreciation of our legal system. It equips students with a knowledge of our society as well as their rights, and responsibilities in the wider society. Additionally, studying law enables students to develop their knowledge of current affairs and important cases in the UK, students explore updates in the law and consider why these changes have been made. Discussions of emotive topics enable students to develop their emotional awareness, verbal communication skills, and their ability to converse on topics with sensitivity. These discussions give students the chance to consider their own beliefs and how these beliefs fit within a modern society, as well as developing an appreciation for differing opinions.  

The Law curriculum at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred aims to create confident critical thinkers, with a passion for the law. Students will gain a broad understanding of the law in society and will consider their own position in society. Through a rich and engaging curriculum many of our students will go on to study law at higher education or pursue careers in law.  

Part 2: Year by year synopsis 

The specification and design of the curriculum develops students’ analytical and problem-solving skills. In year 12 students begin to look at the application of legal rules and principles to novel scenarios and develop their competence in using legal rules and case authority. Students begin to learn how to analyse scenarios, identify key facts, and will begin to create legal arguments. By the end of year 12 students will be able to confidently approach novel scenarios to create detailed legal arguments following clear chains of reasoning. In year 12 students will study both criminal law and tort law, which gives opportunities to consider the effectiveness of the law in a modern society. Throughout year 12 students will develop confidence in challenging their legal arguments and will be able to consider alternative arguments of liability.  

In year 13 students will explore the nature of law, where they will apply various philosophical debates to criminal law and tort law to consider how far the law reflects our ideas of morality and justice, as well as debating whether the law effectively balances interests. The exploration of the nature of law gives students an opportunity to explore their own beliefs and opinions, as well as developing a tolerance for others’ opinions. Throughout year 13 students will be encouraged to construct persuasive legal arguments including instances where there is no existing precedent or perhaps conflicting case authority, this will require students to identify different perspectives of liability and consider the strongest arguments.