Law firms urged to give special consideration to Nottingham students
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The directors of the School of Law at the University of Nottingham have asked law firms to give further consideration to vacation scheme and training contract “applicants from the University of Nottingham even where their grades do not meet the upper second class threshold”.
In a letter to law firms head of school Professor Stephen Bailey and co-directors of undergraduate studies Professor Nigel Gravells and Professor Peter Cartwright stated: “some of our students face difficulties when applying to vacation schemes and training contracts because they do not meet the increasingly common initial threshold of upper second class marks in their first year assessments”.
The three drew attention to the gap between first year and second year marks in law of contract and law of tort modules, emphasising that the law school “endeavours to maintain standards in all of its modules… As a result, the marks awarded to our students in their first year modules are often lower than the required upper second class.
“However, it is our firmly held view that the knowledge and skills that our students develop during the course of these modules provides them with the grounding to mature as well-rounded learners who can go on to graduate with first class and upper second class degrees at the end of their studies.”
The letter, dated yesterday, invites the recipients of the letter to contact the school if they wish to discuss any of the issues in more detail.
For the letter in full, see Related Files below.
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Readers' comments (22)
Anonymous | 4-Dec-2012 4:37 pm
With an increasing competition to get TCs, theres no excuse for students who get 2.2 unless there is a mitigating circumstance. Law firms already have to go through thousands of applications per year.
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 10:08 am
Let's be honest - getting a 2:1 is not particularly difficult. Perhaps the letter should have gone something like this:
Dear Law Firms,
Some of our students can't be bothered to do any work. They spend most of their time on the razz or in bed, as a result of which they graduate with a 2:2.
Please still consider them for training contracts.
Love
University of Nottingham
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 1:14 pm
So what makes Nottingham think they are so special? Every law school in the country can claim that their modules " provides them with the grounding to mature as well-rounded learners who can go on to graduate with first class and upper second class degrees at the end of their studies.” Pathetic.
If your pupils ar enot up to scratch, don't debase yourselves by making such pathetic pleas.
Law recruiters everywhere - pay special attention to Nottingham applicants to make sure they are given a harder not easier time than other Universities. Who the hell do they think they are - Oxbridge?!?
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 2:26 pm
The article and the following comments appear to miss the point. What the School are admitting is that their grading policy is incredibly harsh in comparison to other universities; that given their grading criteria, an exam that is awarded a high 2.2 from Nottingham will likely get a 2.1 from other universities and so students shouldn't be penalised for the School's policy. The fact that the heads of the School are readily admitting this (and it's not just Nottingham students complaining) surely shows the truth in the matter.
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 2:30 pm
As one of the student representatives responsible for raising the issue of first year grades at Nottingham to lecturers at the time I can add the following:
1. The letter is nothing to do with students who graduate with a 2:2 overall, it is to clarify the marking structure Nottingham adopts during first year (generally thought to be very strict and justified by the school who want to enforce high standards from the very start of the degree programme).
Law students applying for vacation schemes have only their first year grades to add to the form and therefore it is vital that a student applying with 58 from their first year is not deemed a ‘bad’ applicant and rejected as a result of that when, generally, 58 from first year is well above average at Nottingham and, given historic data, it is highly probable that student will graduate with a 2:1 or above at the end of the three year programme.
2. The issue of first year grades at Nottingham was raised with me many times over the course of my two year involvement with graduate recruiters who target Nottingham and was NOT raised by students ‘complaining’ that they only got a 2:2 in first year.
3. Various recruiters advised me that other universities they target had written letters clarifying the marking scheme for first year exams. Every university obviously has their individual policy but the broad idea often being that, generally, high 2:2 grades were to be applauded rather than to be seen as evidence of a student who hadn’t applied themselves in first year.
As a result of the concerns of recruiters at the time I raised the issue with the School of Law and they were appreciative of the issue and took time out to clarify the situation to firms to ensure second year law students at Nottingham were not disadvantaged when applying for vacation schemes, my argument being that, given the action of other universities in clarifying first year marking of law papers, they would have been had the school taken no action.
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 2:43 pm
The University of Nottingham only ask Law firms to consider students who have not obtained a 2:1 in all their first year modules - not a 2:1 in their overall degree. If everyone read the letter properly they would realise this rather than jumping to ignorant conclusions.
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 3:27 pm
The difference is that most uni's grade boundaries differ for each year you study. So what you write to get a 2.1 in your first year is nothing like what you write in your second year to get the same mark.
Nottingham consistently grade ALL exams and coursework at a third year level. Hence the average marks being in the 50's in first year! I'm currently at law school and am amazed at how much of an easy ride students at other law schools had during their first two years.
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 3:30 pm
Some of you seem to have missed the point...
This letter applies to first year grades ONLY. The letter states that many of the students who achieve marks in the 50's in first year go on to achieve 2.1's and firsts and therefore should not be so readily dismissed.
Those of you thinking this applies to the overally degree classification need to pay more attention to detail - you can't be a successful lawyer without an important skill like that!
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Claire | 5-Dec-2012 3:40 pm
What a poorly researched and misleading article. Did you bother to read the letter before writing? Not to mention that letters were being sent from a number of other target universities long before Nottingham. If you actually bother to read the letter, you will see that the school isn't trying to make excuses for those who fail to achieve an overall 2:1 in their degree at all.
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Anonymous | 5-Dec-2012 3:42 pm
Why should Nottingham students be discriminated for this joke letter, which was not, as posted, dated yesterday but in fact several years ago?
Nottingham University Law School is notoriously harsh on their first year students and indeed a notorious harsh marker in general, hence why a Nottingham Law degree is more respected than some of their counterparts.
Furthermore, the letter does not ask for consideration regarding second and final year marks, just first year.
Get your facts straight before you criticise.
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