University of Law in talks to take over Oxford Brookes LPC

A spokesperson for the SRA said the talks between the two providers are “ongoing” and that the SRA’s role is to observe the talks and to approve any transfer and “to make sure there is no diminution in quality of training for students.”

Referring to the position of part-time students, the spokesperson said that it was important that if students were half way through the course the providers would need to ensure that specific units were completed in accordance with set requirements.

Students were outraged last week when informed of the Oxford Brookes’ decision to stop teaching the LPC from this summer, meaning that part-time students who enrolled this year were to be left in limbo.

Last week Professor Meryll Dean, head of the school of law, said: “Following a recent consultation, a decision has been made to close Oxford Brookes’ LPC to further recruitment.

“The LPC is a respected course taught by committed staff, but unfortunately a steady decline in applications over the past five years has meant that the programme is no longer tenable. This decline in applications is one which is mirrored nationally across the sector.”

Despite the questions hanging over the future of the course, an open day for prospective GDL and LPC students is still being advertised on Oxford Brookes’ website.

Following the news last week, Oxford Brookes law students wrote an open letter, hosted on Lawyer2B, to university management expressing their dismay at the course’s discontinuation (7 March 2013).

Rumours of the talks were first revealed on legal blog LegalCheek earlier today.