England

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Accessibility statement
Qualification dates
StartEnd
03 Oct 2026Mar 2027
This module covers a range of relevant SQE1 functioning legal knowledge in the legal system of England and Wales, constitutional and administrative law, EU law, legal services, solicitors’ accounts, and criminal law and practice. You’ll be able to develop legal and transferable skills (including communication, research and numeracy), professional behaviours and commercial awareness. The module aims to deliver substantive and procedural law in a highly engaging and authentic way. This should support you if you’re preparing for SQE1 and enhance your employability.
The module is divided into 16 units of study. The first eight units will provide you with a foundational understanding of key areas of law by covering:
The remaining eight units focus on criminal law in practice and will cover:
Throughout the module, you'll have opportunities to reinforce and consolidate knowledge and develop skills through a variety of shorter and longer activities. The longer activities are designed to simulate a virtual working experience by setting the sorts of tasks typically undertaken by those training for a career in law. At the end of each unit of study, there’s a consolidation activity comprising multiple-choice questions modelled on the approach taken in SQE1. You'll also be encouraged to reflect on ethical and professional conduct issues.
During the module, there will be two online SQE events, open to all SQE students, which will cover areas common to the three SQE modules and be useful for aspiring solicitors. You will also have an opportunity to hear from legal practitioners talking about their experience of practice and providing advice on how to obtain employment in that area of law.
If you will be studying this module as part of the:
You must have a law degree which includes English and Welsh law and covers the seven foundations of legal knowledge if you will be studying this module as part of the Professional Certificate in Legal Practice: SQE1 (S36).

You must also have:
This module will build on your knowledge of the legal system of England and Wales, public law, and criminal law. It is therefore recommended that you look over materials and notes on these subject areas from any relevant previous study in preparation for the module.
If you are studying the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (graduate entry) (R82), you will not have covered criminal law previously, and you are therefore strongly advised to prepare for this module by studying the supplementary materials on criminal law, which will be made available on the Law Study Home site.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate.
There may also be occasional one-off events on legal careers and employability.
Due to the vocational nature of this module, the tutors will act like training principals or mentors. Therefore, the individual contact will be at a slightly higher level of frequency than you might have experienced on other OU level 3 modules.
Course work includes:
You will be provided with six eBooks on the following areas:
You'll also have access to a module website, which includes:
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying W321 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
SQE: legal system, public law and criminal litigation starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2030.
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