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Hello and welcome to the Law Department at Reigate College.

My name is Natalie Holmes and I’m the Head of the Law Department. I’m looking forward to welcoming you in person to our friendly department at the beginning of the academic year and getting started on our interesting BTEC course.

For many of you, Law will be a new subject, so I’m setting some activities for you to complete independently from home over the coming months. Even if you have some prior knowledge, these tasks will give you an introduction to the skills and standards required at advanced level. I hope you enjoy the activities and I looking forward to discussing what you’ve learnt when you start in September.

The tasks are organised in three distinct steps and should all be completed by Choices Day on 27 August 2025. This is to give you the best insight into what the courses will be like and/or help prepare you for them.

Please note, some Course Leaders (for example for Music) may release their tasks earlier, as they may form part of the College’s audition process. If this applies to you, you’ll be notified separately.

New Starters Course Tasks and Activities

Release date Suggested Completion Dates
Explore your Subject1 June 1 July
Get Going1 June1 August
Aim High1 June1 September

Explore your Subject

Studying Law will result in you developing a number of important skills.  These include:

  • Research skills
  • Presentation skills
  • Communication skills
  • Appropriate methods of written communication for different audiences
  • Analytical skills e.g. considering why something is important
  • Evaluation skills e.g. justifying and using evidence to argue a point

On both the A Level and BTEC Level 3 courses, you will study concepts of both Civil and Criminal Law.  It’s important you understand the difference between these two and how they are dealt with by the court system.

In this ‘Explore your Subject’ activity, we will focus on Civil Law.

What’s the difference between Civil and Criminal Law?

Criminal Law

Criminal Law deals with the behaviour of individuals, that’s considered to be against the Law of the state. Examples could include assault, theft, robbery, criminal damage and murder. People accused of committing criminal acts can be punished through going to prison, doing community service or receiving a fine.

Civil Law

Civil Law deals with disputes between individual people. Examples of this could include divorce, suing for personal injury, business claims, disputes over land or property and breaches of contract.

All of these issues are not against the law, they are cases between people in which one party will claim they have been injured, or suffered some form of loss, or are entitled to compensation.

Nobody will be punished or sent to prison in civil cases; instead one party will be ordered to give money to the other party as compensation for loss or injury.

Introduction to Civil Law Activity

One of the topics you will study on both the A Level and BTEC Level 3 courses is Negligence.

This means being injured as the result of someone else’s carelessness or negligence. For example, imagine you were walking around the supermarket and a box of stock had been left in the middle of the aisle. You do not see it, and trip and break your leg. You could then sue the supermarket for negligence; they did not mean to injure you, but they have been careless in not making sure the shop floor is safe, and now you can try and obtain money to compensate for your injury

Activity 1:

For this activity, you will need to use your imagination!

Go to your kitchen at home, and imagine this is an actual workplace e.g. you are a chef, and this is your work environment. Can you spot any hazards that could possibly cause an injury?

Photograph anything you find, using your phone, and put the image into a PowerPoint or save it into a Word document. See if you can find at least 5 examples and include a brief explanation as to why it would be a hazard. An example has been provided below.

Alternatively, if you do not have a phone or are unable to do the activity at home, use google to find an image of a professional kitchen, and look carefully to see how they ensure that nobody is injured.

Activity 2:

Imagine you are going to open your own business; you can choose whatever you want. Here are some suggestions:

  • Café
  • Gym
  • Hairdresser
  • Dog grooming parlour
  • Children’s play centre

Can you think of 10 things you would need to do to make sure your staff and customers do not get injured and could then possibly sue you for money?

Here is an example:  Name of Business – Funky Fashions Clothes Boutique

Possible Hazard

  • Customers might knock clothes onto the floor which could then be slipped on or tripped over

Solutions

  • Have a staff rota to ensure someone is always on the shop floor tidying up any clothes that fall.
  • Do not overfill the displays because squashed clothes will probably end up spilling onto the floor

Now create your own two-column table and list up to 10 ‘possible hazards’ in the left column and 10 or more ‘solutions’ in the right column.

Taking it Further

  • Using the internet, research the case of Leah Washington who was injured at Alton Towers on the Smiler ride
  • Can you find anything out about what went wrong and why Alton Towers were to blame?
  • Can you find anything out about the compensation she received and how it was calculated?

Get Going

For your initial Law-related tasks and activities, you were introduced to the area of Civil Law and the concept of Negligence.

Your ‘Get Going’ tasks and activities are now going to switch the focus to Criminal Law.

For serious criminal offences, a defendant will be sent to prison. But does prison actually work?

1. For your first activity I’d like you to watch this on the topic of whether prison works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HoVnWlbnp8&feature=related

Please then create a table similar to the one below, ideally as a Word document, but using a pen and piece of paper is fine (as long as you keep it somewhere safe and remember to bring it with you at the beginning of term). 

Please then write down the arguments for and against sending people to prison – five or six answers for each column is probably about right.  Please expand your answers over several lines for each argument, when required.  We would like you to give detailed and thorough answers.

2. Sentencing criminals can be a difficult process and sometimes judges are criticised for being too lenient or too harsh. Do you think you would make a good judge?

In 2011, riots took place across London and many nearby areas and a lot of the people arrested received extremely tough sentences. For example, one man entered a cafe that had been broken into during the riots and helped himself to an ice cream, taking one lick before putting it back. He received a prison sentence of 16 months!

Read the following article from the BBC news regarding the sentencing after the London riots and watch the included video

What is your opinion on the following question:

“Tough prison sentences are the only way to stop further crime occurring”.

Aim to write 2-3 paragraphs. You might want to consider:

Is there any evidence that prison deters criminals from reoffending?
How much does it cost to keep people in prison? Is that money well spent for minor offences?
Are there any alternative punishments that might be more suitable?

Aim High

The scope of Law

On the Law, BTEC Level 3 course, you’ll be introduced to many different areas, including:

•    The nature of law and the English legal system

•    Criminal law

•    Tort law

•    Family law

Each of the above topics will be broken down into smaller specific areas of law, for example in criminal law, you’ll cover:

•    Elements of a crime

•    Non-fatal offences

•    Homicide

•    Defences

•    Property offences

•    Attempts

Euthanasia: right to live v right to die?

The areas of criminal law and human rights overlap in the concept of euthanasia. In UK law, it is illegal to help someone to die through euthanasia. It is even illegal to assist someone to make arrangements to die, for example by helping them travel to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

However, whilst it remains a crime in British law to assist a death, there are many arguments that it should not be and challenges to the current law have been made in the form of trying to pass an ‘assisted dying bill’. In human rights there are arguments about the ability to decide when to die and when life officially ends. It has been confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights that feeding and ventilation can be withdrawn by a doctor, yet a doctor cannot actively help a person to end their own lives.

In Law you will always be expected to analyse arguments; this will involve weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of a particular topic, or possibly analysing whether a Defendant has committed a crime based on the evidence given to you in a scenario.

In the UK, there have been over 115 instances of people assisting suicide; however there have only been prosecutions in two of these cases.

The scenario below asks you to analyse whether Daniel’s parents should or should not be prosecuted.

TASK 1: Read the following facts from the case of Daniel James:

As a result of injury during rugby training, 23-year-old Daniel James lost the use of his body from the chest down. He ended his life at Dignitas in September 2008. His parents had assisted him to send documentation to Dignitas, made payments to Dignitas from their joint bank account, made travel arrangements to take him to Switzerland and accompanied him on the flight. (Dignitas is the Swiss clinic where people can go to have help committing suicide.)

TASK 2: You are currently working as a barrister for the prosecution team in the Daniel James case. Write at least one paragraph on why you think his parents should be prosecuted for assisting his suicide and why.   

You might like to consider:

  • Daniel’s age
  • whether he reached the decision alone
  • whether he clearly communicated his decision
  • whether Daniel sought the help from his parents
  • whether his parents were motivated by compassion or some other motive
  • whether Daniel was able to physically undertake the act himself
  • whether, on the facts given, his parents had done anything like this before?

TASK 3: You have now switched sides and are working as a barrister for the defence team. Write a paragraph on why you think his parents should not be prosecuted for assisting his suicide and why.

You might like to consider:

  • whether it was Daniel’s decision
  • his parent’s motivation for helping
  • whether his parents used only minor assistance
  • whether his parents would have been reluctant
  • whether his parents assisted the police in their enquiries

TASK 4: There are many organisations who either support or oppose the concept of euthanasia. Research the following websites, or alternatively select three organisations of your own, and analyse their viewpoints and whether they think the law should be changed or not. You might also consider researching cases that have gone to court and have asked the judges to consider the concept of a right to die and their outcome. 

TASK 5: Finally, create a table under the headings ‘Pro-euthanasia arguments’ and ‘Anti-euthanasia arguments’ and list as many reasons as you can think of for and against the legalisation of euthanasia.

Natalie Holmes
Head of Law
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