Law Soc demotes BPP with 'very good' rating

BPP Law School's London branch has lost its 'excellent' rating following the latest round of visits by the Law Society.

The school, which is the exclusive provider to the five-strong City LPC consortium comprising Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Lovells, Norton Rose and Slaughter and May, was informed of its downgrading to 'very good' last Thursday (29 September).

BPP's London branch was last audited in May 2003, when it was rated 'excellent'. The school's Leeds outpost, which opened last year, was rated 'very good' in November 2004. BPP's newest branch, in Manchester, has yet to be audited by the Law Society.

The audits, which are carried out every three years, assess, among other things, law schools' staffing and teaching materials.

BPP chief executive Peter Crisp confirmed the downgrading and added: "We were very surprised and are obviously very disappointed. We think the school has improved over the last two years and our clients think it's fantastic."

The move leaves only five legal education providers with an 'excellent' rating: Cardiff Law School, Inns of Court School of Law, Nottingham Law School, Staffordshire University and the University of the West of England.