Where am I? Home > Our courses > PSC - course arrangements

Professional Skills Course
Course arrangements

Important information for delegates attending PSC training at The College of Law.

Before attending the course

Please ensure you have provided us with your mobile phone number. We assure you that this will only be used in case of an emergency, should our Client Contact Centre need to reach you in the event of any last minute or urgent updates to the arrangements for your course.

Arrival

Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the course. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requirement is that a minimum number of hours of face-to-face tuition must be completed and therefore arriving more than 30 minutes after the start of a course may result in the trainer refusing to admit you to the programme.

Registration

You should enquire at reception on arrival, where you will be directed to the room in which the course will be held and registration will take place. Please remember to take your joining instructions letter with you to all courses.

Importance of signing the register

You must sign a register for every teaching session you attend as proof that you have attended each module. Please note that the SRA stipulates that you must attend each module in its entirety and the College’s accreditation means that the College can only issue a certificate or letter of satisfactory completion to those trainees who have attended the necessary number of hours of study. Some firms require attendance and report records for reasons of health and safety.

Absence

Please contact the Client Contact Centre on 0800 289997 as soon as possible if you are unable to attend, as failure to attend without prior notification will result in the full course fees being charged.

Dress code

The dress code is smart-casual, unless otherwise stated in the course joining instructions.

Joining instructions

Your joining instructions will be sent out approximately two weeks prior to each course, with the exception of Advocacy and Communication Skills, where joining instructions will be sent out three weeks prior to the course.

Course materials

Please note that writing materials are not supplied.

Advocacy and Communication Skills – you will receive pre-course reading and guidance approximately three weeks before your course. These give details of the preparation you will need to undertake prior to starting this module.
Client Care and Professional Standards – we supply an up-to-date copy of relevant extracts from SRA’s Solicitors Code of Conduct for use on the course. However, these must be returned at the end of the session. Delegates are therefore strongly advised to bring with them their own copies of the relevant extracts from the ‘Code of Conduct’. This will allow you to mark the extracts and keep them for future reference. These can be printed out from the SRA’s website at www.sra.org.uk and found under Code of Conduct. Alternatively you can contact the SRA on 0870 606 2555 for further information.

Accommodation

You are responsible for finding any accommodation you may require.

Special needs

If you have special needs (eg due to physical disability, Dyslexia etc) or require special arrangements (eg because of religious holidays etc) it is important that you notify The College of Law’s Professional Development Team in writing, a minimum of three weeks prior to any course or exam.

Please note that these arrangements apply to all PSC delegates – including those who have previously studied at the College.

Please send your written notification to:

The Client Contact Centre
The College of Law
Braboeuf Manor
Portsmouth Road
St Catherines
Guildford
Surrey
GU3 1HA

If you have any queries or concerns, please call us on 0800 289997.

Examinations and assessments

You will sit a 1.5-hour open book examination for the Financial and Business Skills core module. Details of the format of the examination will be given to you during the course. All examinations are marked by a College tutor. In addition, an external examiner (whose decision is final) is appointed by the College to sit as moderator.

There are no formal assessments for any of the other modules. However, you will receive a written appraisal as part of the Advocacy and Communication Skills core module.

Rules and regulations

The College of Law’s Assessment Regulations prevail at all times. For a copy, please contact the Client Contact Centre.

Eligibility – to be eligible to sit the examination, you must have attended all the teaching sessions for the appropriate module
Pass mark: 60%
Registration – you will be asked to sign the register at the start of the examination
Board of Examiners – this comprises the PSC Director, external and internal examiners
Open book examinations – you may take the following materials into your examination:
- SRA’s Solicitors Code of Conduct
- College of Law study materials
- A4 lever arch file of your notes

Results

The College publishes examination results within 30 working days (six weeks) of the examination. Results are only issued in writing and are not available over the telephone or published publicly. A copy will be sent to your Training Partner.

Re-sits

You may re-sit your examination as many times as is necessary. Should you fail your first attempt at the Financial and Business Skills examination you will be permitted two further attempts. However, if you do not pass after these additional attempts, the SRA requires that you retake the Financial and Business Skills course. The SRA does not permit the College to release question or answer papers, but you may request written feedback on your exam from a College tutor.

Concessions

Regulation 11 of the PSC Assessment Regulations covers this area. It provides that: ‘If a candidate has extenuating circumstances that affect performance and lead to failure, the examination which the candidate has failed can be discounted. If, for example, it was the candidate’s first attempt at the examination, that attempt will be ignored and the next sitting of the examination will be counted as the first attempt’.

To make a Regulation 11 application please:

obtain a Regulation 11 application form from the Client Contact Centre
return the form to the Client Contact Centre with supporting documentation within 30 days of your examination

Adequate medical or other evidence must accompany your Regulation 11 application. It must cover the relevant period and state the likely effect on your examination performance.

Please note that the Regulation 11 procedure can be time consuming. In some cases it may be quicker to take a re-sit examination.

Examination offences

The College of Law and the SRA treat examination offences seriously. If you are shown to have cheated you will be deemed to have failed the examination and will be reported to the SRA. It is for the SRA to determine whether the offence may have a bearing upon your character and suitability to become a solicitor.

Additional fees

Re-sitting an examination at a College venue: £60 + VAT (£70.50 inc VAT)
Duplicate certificate or letter of completion: £15 + VAT (£17.62 inc VAT)

Cheques should be made payable to College of Law Services Ltd. and sent to: