The College of Law - a brief history
The College of Law is the UK’s longest-established specialist provider of legal education and training – we’ve been leading developments in the field since we were established in the 1960s.
Leaders of change: 1962-1967
The College was created by the Law Society from an amalgamation of its long-running School of Law and tutorial firm Gibson and Weldon. Beginning with ‘crash courses’ for qualified legal practitioners in 1967, it has continued to provide professional development training for the whole profession.
Major breakthroughs: 1975-1979
The College of Law submitted proposals which changed the face of legal education, recommending a 36-week Final Examination course for aspiring solicitors and a Common Professional Examination (CPE) or law conversion course for non-law graduates. It became a major provider of – and examining body for – the CPE (now known as the Graduate Diploma in Law).
New study modes: 1981
In the 1980s, the Law Society asked the College to produce a scheme for additional tuition in accounts for articled clerks, combining distance learning with one day of attendance at lectures. The course became compulsory for those taking the Final Examination, which meant the College was able to develop distance learning study on other courses over the coming years.
A vocational focus: 1993-1999
The skills-based Legal Practice Course replaced the Final Examination, giving students a more vocational education. Student numbers grew to around 4,500 a year by the mid 1990s. A few years later, the College severed its links with the Law Society and, when the Council for Legal Education lost its monopoly, was able to run the new Bar Vocational Course for aspiring barristers (now known as the Bar Professional Training Course).
New opportunities: 2000-2003
The College of Law pioneered the establishment of pro bono clinics, with students undertaking legal advice work for free under the guidance of practitioners. It also forged international links, introducing young European lawyers to the English legal system for the British Council.
From strength to strength: 2003-present
The College has remained the leading UK provider of legal education. It has restructured its Legal Practice Course to give students more choice and won a contract to develop firm-specific LPC programmes for three top magic-circle firms - Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Linklaters. It has also signed up many other firms to exclusively send their trainees to the College for their GDL, LPC and PSC.
In 2006, the College made history by becoming the first independent institution to be granted degree awarding powers by the Privy Council. This led to the development of the College’s Bachelor and Master of Laws degree programmes. In 2006 we also opened our impressive London Moorgate centre – the UK’s largest corporate-specific law school.
2007 was a key year for the College, marking not only the establishment of our independent legal services policy think-tank, the Legal Service Institute, but also the foundation of our free of charge Alumni Association. It also saw the launch of our Pathways to Law programme in association with the Sutton Trust – to increase access to legal careers for state school children with no family history of university.
2009 and 2010 marked a period of regional expansion for the College, with the opening of our Manchester centre in 2009 and Bristol centre in 2010. 2009 also saw the major expansion of our existing Birmingham centre.
In January 2011, the College announced its entry into the undergraduate market, with the launch of its innovative two-year LL.B law degree - focusing on employability and practical skills.