Law Summer School (Criminal & Family Law) - Detailed Outline (In-Person)

This page provides a detailed outline of the in-person Law Summer School – Part 1 (Criminal and Family Law), a five-day course for students aged 15-18 who are interested in law, curious about how legal systems work, or beginning to think about future study in the subject. The programme below explains what students study on each day, moving from the foundations of criminal law through offences, defences, and legal philosophy to family law, free speech, and the final Mock Crown Court Trial.

The course is designed to give students a serious but accessible introduction to legal reasoning. Rather than focusing on exam technique, it emphasises discussion, analysis, argument, and application. Students are introduced to core legal ideas, work through real and hypothetical cases, and consider difficult questions about justice, responsibility, freedom, and fairness.

Teaching takes place through small-group seminars, structured debates, negotiation exercises, and courtroom advocacy, giving students a clear sense of how law can be explored in an academic setting. Across the week, they build skills in legal analysis, persuasive speaking, teamwork, statutory interpretation, and the clear construction of arguments – all of which culminate in the final Mock Crown Court Trial.

Prefer to view and download the PDF version of the Law Summer School – Part 1 outline? You can do so here.

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Day One – Criminal Law in Action
Day Two – Criminal Offences, Defences, and Sentencing
Day Three – The Boundaries of Criminal Law
Day Four – Family, Parenthood, and the Law
Day Five – Free Speech, Advocacy, and the Mock Trial

Across the week, students explore a wide range of legal topics and methods, including criminal process, non-fatal offences, murder and manslaughter, criminal defences, sentencing, inchoate offences, jurisprudence, family law, assisted reproduction, and the regulation of hate speech. The course combines legal study with debate, problem-solving, negotiation, and advocacy, so that students are not only learning what the law says, but also practising how lawyers think and argue.

By the end of the course, students should have a clearer understanding of how legal problems are analysed, how arguments are built and tested, and how different areas of law reflect wider questions about society, morality, and justice. They will also have had the chance to develop confidence in speaking, reasoning, and working collaboratively under pressure

Please note that for some groups, sessions may run in a different order.

10.30 – 1.00 Crime, Courts, and the Rules of the Game

The course begins by asking some of the biggest questions in law. What actually is a law? Where does it come from? How is criminal law different from civil law? Through discussion, examples, and problem-solving, students begin to build a clear picture of how the legal system is structured and why different kinds of wrongdoing are treated in different ways. This opening session is designed not just to introduce key ideas, but to get students thinking like lawyers from the very start – weighing distinctions carefully, testing definitions, and learning to justify their conclusions.

The focus then shifts to the criminal justice process itself. Students follow a case through the system from arrest and interview to charge, bail, first hearing, trial and appeal, developing a practical understanding of how criminal cases unfold in real life. They will explore the roles of judges, juries and lawyers, and begin to understand one of the most important ideas in criminal law: what it actually takes to prove someone guilty. Along the way, students practise legal reasoning, close analysis, and structured discussion, while also building the confidence to ask sharp questions about how justice works in practice.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Juries, Argument, and Advocacy

In the afternoon, students turn to one of the most famous and controversial parts of the justice system: the jury. After exploring what juries are for, when they are used, and what problems they might raise, the class takes part in a structured debate on the motion: This House would abolish trial by jury in England and Wales. This session gives students an early chance to develop some of the core skills that matter throughout the course – building arguments, speaking persuasively, responding under pressure, and working with others to make a case.

The final part of the day introduces advocacy – the skill of presenting a case clearly and convincingly in court. Students learn how criminal trials are structured, how lawyers question witnesses, and why different types of questioning matter. They are introduced to the difference between examination-in-chief and cross-examination, and begin practising how to ask questions that are strategic, precise, and effective. This is also the point at which the week’s Mock Trial starts to come into view, as students are introduced to the case materials and begin thinking ahead about how a prosecution or defence team might build its argument. The emphasis here is not only on understanding courtroom procedure, but on developing confidence, clarity, teamwork, and persuasive speaking.

10.30 – 1.00 Assault, Injury, and Defining an Offence

Day Two begins with a close look at non-fatal offences against the person – one of the most important and surprisingly subtle areas of criminal law. Students explore the different offences used to classify unlawful violence, from assault and battery through to actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm, and consider why the law draws these distinctions so carefully. What is the difference between making someone fear violence and actually touching them? When does an injury become serious enough to count as ABH or GBH? And why does the law sometimes treat two outwardly similar incidents very differently?

This session also develops some of the key tools students need in order to think like criminal lawyers. They are introduced to actus reus and mens rea, and begin applying those ideas to concrete offences and scenarios. In practice, that means learning to break legal problems into parts, identify what must be proved, and explain why one charge fits better than another. Along the way, students sharpen their analytical skills, practise making precise distinctions, and build confidence in discussing difficult borderline cases where the answer is not obvious at first glance.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Murder, Defences, and Sentencing

In the afternoon, the focus shifts to the most serious questions in criminal law. Students begin by examining murder and manslaughter: what they mean, what separates them, and why questions of intention and causation can make such a dramatic difference to the outcome of a case. They explore the idea that not all unlawful killings are treated alike, and work through the principles that help courts decide when a defendant is guilty of murder, when a lesser offence may apply, and why causation can become such a contested issue.

Alongside this, students look at some of the most important criminal defences, including self-defence, intoxication, loss of control, and duress. A particular emphasis falls on self-defence and the question of proportionality – not just whether force was used, but whether it was reasonable in the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be. This gives students the chance to grapple with some of the hardest problems in criminal law: when should fear excuse violence, when should pressure excuse wrongdoing, and when should the law refuse to excuse either? These discussions help students develop legal judgment as well as legal knowledge, since they must weigh principles, test hypotheticals, and justify their conclusions rather than simply memorising rules.

The day ends by turning from guilt to punishment. Once someone has been convicted, how should a sentence actually be decided? Students are introduced to the logic of sentencing guidelines, including the way courts think about culpability, harm, starting points, and the range of possible outcomes. They also encounter the idea of mitigation – the art of persuading a court to see an offence in its full human context. This final part of the day builds a different but equally important set of skills: weighing competing factors, making balanced judgments, and thinking carefully about fairness, consistency, and what punishment is really for.

10.30 – 1.00 Inchoate Offences – Can You Be Guilty of a Crime That Never Happened?

Day Three begins with one of the strangest and most intellectually demanding areas of criminal law: inchoate offences. Students explore the law of attempt, conspiracy, and encouraging or assisting crime, asking where criminal liability begins when the intended harm has not yet happened – or may never happen at all. At what point does preparation become an attempt? Should people be punished for agreeing to commit a crime even if they never carry it out? And what happens when someone helps or encourages an offence from the sidelines rather than committing it themselves?

This session is especially strong for developing legal reasoning. Students work through real and hypothetical scenarios, test the boundaries between planning and doing, and learn how lawyers extract rules from statutory language as well as from cases. Because inchoate liability often turns on fine distinctions, the session encourages precision, careful interpretation, and the willingness to defend a conclusion even where the answer is not immediately obvious. It also gives students more experience of handling legal uncertainty – not just learning what the law says, but seeing why these questions are so difficult in the first place.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Law, Morality, and Building Your Case

In the afternoon, the course steps back from individual offences and asks a bigger question: what is law actually for? The jurisprudence session introduces students to some of the major debates in legal philosophy, including the relationship between law and morality, whether unjust laws should be obeyed, and who gets to decide what counts as a legitimate rule in the first place. Students are invited to test their instincts against difficult examples, classify rules as legal, moral, both or neither, and discuss problems that do not have neat or comfortable answers.

A particular focus falls on the debate between acts and omissions – whether the law should punish people for failing to act, as well as for acting wrongly. Through structured discussion and debate, students consider whether there should be a legal duty to rescue someone in danger, and what that would mean for freedom, responsibility, and the role of the state. This part of the day places a strong emphasis on discussion, persuasion, and intellectual confidence: students are not just learning legal ideas, but practising how to argue about them clearly and thoughtfully.

The final part of the afternoon turns from theory back to practice, as students begin focused preparation for the Mock Trial. Working in prosecution and defence teams, they revisit the structure of a trial, think about what each side needs from its witnesses, identify the most important points of dispute, and begin assigning roles. This session is designed to help students turn legal knowledge into strategy: deciding what matters most, shaping a case theory, and working collaboratively to prepare opening speeches, witness questioning, and closing arguments. It is also a chance to build confidence before the final day in court, with the emphasis very much on teamwork, clarity, and thoughtful preparation.

10.30 – 1.00 What Makes a Family, and How the Law Responds to Changing Circumstances

Day Four begins by widening the focus beyond criminal law and asking a different kind of legal question: what counts as a family in the first place? Students explore the structure of family law and the ways it regulates relationships, responsibilities, and care. They are invited to test different possible definitions of a family, think about parental responsibility, and consider how the law balances private family life against the need to protect children and vulnerable people. This part of the day is especially good for developing discussion skills and intellectual confidence, because the questions are often more open-ended and contested than they first appear.

The morning then turns to divorce and financial redistribution. Students explore how the law responds when relationships break down, looking at the difference between divorce and annulment, the practical process of ending a marriage, and the difficult question of how money and property should be divided afterwards. This is not just a matter of learning rules: students are asked to think like lawyers weighing fairness, need, equality, and the future welfare of those involved. In practice, that means negotiation, argument, and careful judgment, as they work through the kinds of competing claims that make family law so human and so difficult.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 Assisted Reproduction and the Legal Future of Parenthood

In the afternoon, the focus shifts to one of the fastest-changing areas of family law: assisted reproduction. Students explore the legal questions raised by surrogacy, IVF, and modern reproductive technology, asking how the law decides who counts as a legal parent when biology, birth, and upbringing do not all point in the same direction. Rather than treating family as something simple or fixed, this session shows students how legal definitions are tested by scientific change and by the growing variety of real family structures.

This session is also a strong exercise in legal reasoning. Students are asked to apply possible definitions of motherhood and fatherhood to difficult scenarios, compare legal rules with their own instincts about fairness, and debate whether the law is keeping pace with modern family life. It is a chance to practise exactly the kind of thinking good lawyers need: defining terms carefully, spotting where categories break down, and making persuasive arguments about how the law should respond when older assumptions no longer fit the facts.

10.30 – 1.00 Free Speech, Hate Speech, and Arguing the Hard Cases

The final day begins with one of the most difficult and controversial questions in modern law: how far should free speech go? Students explore the legal treatment of hate speech in the UK, looking at the ways the law tries to balance freedom of expression against the risks of intimidation, prejudice, and incitement. Rather than treating this as a simple right-or-wrong issue, the session invites students into a genuinely difficult argument: when does offensive speech become something the law should step in to punish, and when should it remain protected?

Students examine the legal framework surrounding hate speech, consider selected cases, and then prepare for a formal debate on whether hate speech should be decriminalised. This is a strong skills session as well as a legal one. Students are challenged to build arguments under pressure, respond to opposing views, use evidence selectively, and think carefully about how to persuade an audience on an issue where strong principles pull in both directions. The debate format also gives them another chance to develop confidence in public speaking, structured rebuttal, and quick-thinking responses through points of information and floor debate.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 The Crown Court Mock Trial – Your Day in Court

In the afternoon, the course reaches its climax with the Mock Trial. Students step into a Crown Court setting and take on the roles of barristers, witnesses, judge, and jury, putting the week’s learning into practice in a live courtroom exercise. They deliver opening and closing speeches, question witnesses in examination-in-chief and cross-examination, follow courtroom formalities, and work within the structure of a real criminal trial.

This session brings together everything the course has been building towards: legal reasoning, teamwork, confidence in speaking, close attention to evidence, and the ability to think strategically in the moment. It is not just a performance exercise, but a test of judgment and preparation. Students need to listen carefully, adapt to what witnesses say, and make decisions about which points matter most. The trial concludes with a verdict and feedback, giving students the chance to reflect on what made a case persuasive and what strong advocacy really looks like in practice.

This outline provides a detailed view of the themes, ideas, and legal problems explored during the in-person Law Summer School – Part 1. The programme is designed to introduce students to some of the key concepts, debates, and methods used in legal study, combining case analysis, discussion, debate, and applied exercises to show how lawyers interpret rules, construct arguments, and think through difficult questions of justice and fairness.

You can also return to the main in-person Law Summer School page for full details about the course and how to apply.