Law Personal Statement

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Since choosing to do Law at A level, I have known my goal is to go to university and study a Law course. I am particularly interested in the effect law has on the wider world, for example, how countries are kept in check by democracies and the comparisons we can make between institutions. The diverse nature of the law is also what attracts me to the subject, as well as the fact that law serves the purpose of making society aware of the differences between right and wrong. Helping out in Law open evenings in college really helped me express my passion for the subject. The opportunity to plan and teach a group of year 10's about the content of the course helped me greatly as I was able to adapt my approach to the subject to suit their needs.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

I specifically chose an A level pathway because, always wanting to expand my knowledge and show my enthusiasm to develop my learning, I chose three A levels in which the content frequently overlaps. History, in particular, is helpful to Law as the idea of how society has adapted to different societies, for example, Communist Russia, is similar to the study of law and Judicial precedent. The amount of independent work and coursework in history has proved challenging but enjoyable, and demonstrates my independent learning skills and time management. Source-based essays have helped me develop good analytical skills, essay skills, and helped me understand the view of others which I feel will help me greatly. Sociology helped me identify and understand problems in society and human rights which especially interests me. The topic of crime and deviance overlaps with my Law course topics such as injustices between stop and searches on ethnic minorities is something that inspires me to learn the reasoning behind this unfairness.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Always keen to contextualise my theoretical learning of law, I have independently organised numerous visits to courts ranging from the Magistrates to the Old Bailey. I took part in a Crime and Punishment seminar in which I listened to top defence barrister Sue Rodham and the former Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Tom Lloyd, who spoke about their experience in the law profession and the influence they had on the world around them. I found this to be very inspiring and to give me an exclusive insight into the English Legal System from different perspectives. Debating society, as well as my job in customer service, has really helped develop my public speaking and communication skills which I feel are especially useful and relevant to the course as I am constantly meeting new people in my job and expected to present myself in a professional way. When winning a Nestle Work experience day, although out of my comfort zone, I adapted to the new challenges and took the opportunities to develop my leadership and teamwork skills in order to complete the tasks. I participated in work experience at Land Securities which helped me build my listening skills and allowed me to learn from new experiences. Upon completing the Duke of Edinburgh award, I didn't necessarily enjoy it at first but upon reflection, I could definitely see the benefits that, for example, the volunteering had on my attitude, work ethic, and in making me determined. While maintaining the workload in heavily academic subjects, I also balance out learning grades for my bass guitar and progressing in kickboxing in which you need to be calm, measured and focused. From this, I possess personal qualities that will help me to study law such as self-discipline which is demonstrated in these activities. I am confident in my strong work ethic and in looking to the future I am looking forward to taking part in the wider community at your University and supporting the institution. Therefore I am confident that I would suit this course and university life well.