General Information

Below is a quick outline of some general information about our LPC course and with living in Stoke-On-Trent. If you have a query please do not hestitate to contact us.

The Law School, located in its recently built £3m premises, is situated within a few hundred yards of Stoke-on-Trent station and is within two miles of the M6. These excellent road and rail links give the student easy access to Birmingham, Manchester and Chester. For those students interested in international travel, Manchester Airport is only 45 minutes away. Stoke-on-Trent is also conveniently located for some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The Peak District, Cheshire Plain, Lake District and North Wales are all within easy striking distance. The student can enjoy the bustle of town life or the tranquillity of a rural setting within minutes of each other.

The city of Stoke-on-Trent is made up of a number of towns, the principal of which, Hanley, has superb shopping facilities and a cultural quarter including restaurants of all varieties, nightclubs and discotheques. The nationally renowned New Victoria Theatre (a theatre in the round) is situated in nearby Newcastle Under Lyme and has the benefit of a reasonably priced restaurant. The thrills of Alton Towers are only a 30 minute drive away. There is something to suit every pocket whether it be in terms of high-class restaurants or simple pizzerias, expensive apartments or inexpensive bed-sits. Local shops are sensitive to the dietary requirements of ethnic minorities. Home to the pottery industry, Stoke-on-Trent has a wealth of local history with many unusual and interesting museums worthy of a visit.

The local Festival Park (formerly the location of the Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival) offers numerous facilities including a multi-screen cinema, inland waterways marina, superstores, swimming pool and dry-ski slope. The University has the benefit of superb sporting facilities. The sports centre is located close to the Law School and a public swimming pool is situated nearby. For the student interested in rock climbing, the famous Roaches (rocky outcrops) are within a thirty minute drive of the University on the Leek to Buxton Road. Almost all kinds of sporting activities are catered for either on campus or within a short distance of the University. For football enthusiasts, Stoke-on-Trent is the home of Stoke City.  
 

As well as concern for the students' social activities, the University acknowledges that the general welfare of its students is of the utmost importance. While the University itself has its own internal welfare and counselling services, the Legal Practice Course also operates a pro-active personal tutor system. The personal tutor allocated to each student is responsible for assisting with any problems which the student may have, whether it be of an academic or social nature, or simply to discuss issues of concern with the student. All personal tutors teach on the Legal Practice Course and tend to form excellent and supportive relationships with their students. The University has in excess of two thousand five hundred self-catering places on campus, and a large register of reasonably priced private accommodation, including integrated places for students with mobility disablements. Our Accommodation Service can assist you in finding suitable accommodation.

While the University itself has its own internal welfare and counselling services, the LPC also operates a pro-active personal tutor system. Your personal tutor is responsible for helping with any problems that you might have, whether it be of an academic or social nature, or simply to discuss issues of concern with you. All personal tutors teach on the LPC and form excellent and supportive relationships with their students. All LPC staff operate an 'open door' policy as well as offer regular 'call-in' sessions. All our students feel nurtured and never feel they are just a 'number.

The course fees are inclusive of all course materials and textbooks. Fees can be paid by 3 equal instalments and do not include the SRA monitoring fee levied by th SRA each year.

We have issued a comprehensive pack of pre-course reading materials to enable students to grasp the practical nature and "ethos" of the course as well as providing them with a reminder of the basic legal knowledge they should revise and be familiar with before starting the LPC. Students receive five packs: one for each of Business Law and Practice, Property Law and Practice, Criminal Law and Practice, Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Wills and Administration of Estates.

Each pack contains a sample file of documents for a typical transaction within that subject area. This is designed to give the students a "feel" for the types of issues relevant to practice. The packs also contain a self-assessment test for the requisite knowledge acquired during the academic stage and needed for the study of each subject area.

Additionally, we are proposing to include within each of the pre-course packs materials introducing each of the five Couse skills.

Throughout the year we offer a programme of lectures and workshops, including titles such as "Creative Job-hunting and Enhancing your CV", "Adapting your skills to the training contract" and "What are employers looking for in recruitment?" Our careers tutor also offers interactive careers workshops to supplement this programme as well as careers 'drop in'
sessions so that students can discuss careers issues interview techniques and general advice in self-assessment and job-hunting.

To provide as much support and experience as we can we also arrange for representatives from legal firms to deliver lectures on CV drafting and covering letters. A register is maintained of all students who are still searching for training contracts so that when firms approach us with regard to vacancies, contact is made with students on the Blackboard Careers Section.

Membership of the local Junior Lawyers Division (JLD)
We pay for all our students to become members of the JLD. By attending the JLD's meetings and activities, you will be able to discuss careers issues and opportunities and learn more about the workings of the profession from the young employee's perspective.

The unique practitioner mentoring scheme, pioneered by the Law School, has proved to be invaluable and enjoyable for our students. Under this scheme all LPC students are allocated to a solicitor mentor, usually from the North Staffordshire district, but occasionally arranged within the student's chosen geographical location. Students will then meet with their mentors, seeing them several times a year, usually over lunch in the mentor's offices. This enables the students to witness the "sharp end" of practice and to discuss with their mentors, practice issues and concerns.