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The College of Law is definitely a star in the ascendancy as far as law providers are concerned, its main rival for the GDL and LPC being BPP. The College’s Moorgate centre opened in August 2006 and, for the first two years, only provided the firm-specific LPC (more on that later) and the corporate LPC. However, from 2008 it has also provided the GDL.

The College is viewed in very high esteem within the legal profession and was the first independent institution to be granted degree awarding powers so that now, if you successfully complete both the GDL and LPC or BVC at College, you get an LL.B out of it (not bad for 18 months work). If you successfully complete the LPC or BVC, you will also earn 60 credits towards the College’s LL.M in Professional Legal Practice.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the major firms and the College is exclusive provider to Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Linklaters who all have specifically tailored LPCs which they organise in conjunction with the College. Other major firms such as SJB also send their future trainees to Moorgate (although they have no specific LPC at this time).

The building, situated on Bunhill Row was refurbished specifically for the College. It’s right next to a Territorial Army training ground so you are often fortunate enough to have Business Law (and even Equity Finance if you’re really lucky) interrupted by the sight and sounds of a military helicopter trying to land in the centre of London.

The Moorgate site is spread out over five floors with the fifth devoted to offices and the first to fourth occupied by interview rooms and workshop rooms (many of which have dividing walls which can open up leaving a decent sized lecture room when needed.

The ground floor is the reception area (leather couches…) and has a Costa´s, very very useful for when you want to pull an all-dayer. It also has the first floor of the library (the second being on the first floor).

This part of the library is almost exclusively devoted to computers with only a very few law books (which one rarely ever needs) whilst the upper floor of the library has a large and extensive collection of paper resources should you swallow the research bug.

The basement houses a few more computers but is more of a common area for relaxing or study-buddying, and also has the locker room (a useful addition as you’ll very soon realise).

If you fancy walking up to your class then the College has kindly provided you with stairs, but for the majority of us, laziness is key (particularly if you’re holding a hot drink as well as your books and folders!) and the four lifts come in handy.

All teachers are qualified solicitors and have practiced for a number of years before coming to Moorgate. However, as is the case with every educational institute, the teaching varies. You can be lucky enough to have all fantastic teachers, or unlucky enough to have a poor teacher for your weakest subject. For the most part however, the teaching is more than sound.

There’s a common misconception that you learn the law in the workshops. Wrong. The law is clarified in the workshops. You’re told in advance what to prepare for the following workshop and are expected to have done so completely. The College works on the principle that the workshops are an opportunity to practice what you have learnt and to clarify any misunderstandings.

However, most teachers will gladly deviate from the prescribed plan if there is general confusion as to an issue (and there will be many). The advantage of the system is that you can also go to your classmates for help which is a useful teambuilding exercise particularly if you´re on the firm-specific LPC where you only have classes with your intake.

The College is a well- oiled machine, there are rarely any more than 20 people in a class and the tables are limited to fives persons each (so that you can discuss the various issues that arise as a table).

The course is front heavy so that you´ll be at your busiest from August to February and so the number of study hours a week here is much more than in the second half of the course (the vocational electives). You have each subject once a week (you need the rest of the time to prepare for it but each workshop lasts two and a half hours with a ten minute break in the middle (or whenever there´s a natural pause).

Don’t be surprised however if people bring in home made cakes and cookies for the class – lawyers can be quite creative in their spare time when they want to be! Support exists and tutors will gladly explain to you where you are going wrong and will often suggest meeting up separately so that they can give you their full attention, after all, there may be 19 other people who are confused too!

Don’t be afraid to admit to not knowing something – you´re there to learn and their job is to ensure that you pass your exams. Also, chances are that at least two other people have the same question. Initiative is rewarded (although the occasional look from classmates of ´where the hell is he coming from´ is possible).

On average a single workshop takes about 10-12 hours to prepare for (if you do everything properly and completely). There can be no denying that working pretty much consistently from 9am through to 6pm for five days a week can be exhausting (and you may find that you have to come in on a weekend on occasion).

Moorgate is within the City of London and is, as such, in the heart of the business and legal world both domestically and globally. The campus is pretty much equidistant from Old Street and Moorgate stations (is even walkable from Bank and Liverpool Street Stations too).

Directly opposite the College is Slaughter and May whose offices one can frequently see (do not be surprised to see a meeting room filled with portly middle-aged men sitting down with their arms folded and all wearing braces). Next to S&M is City University Business School (CASS). Also within walking distance the offices of White & Case, Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith and Simmons & Simmons may be found (as may many more).

Around the corner from the College, by City Point Tower, you can relive one of your favourite Spooks moments by having a coffee where some shooting (literally) was filmed. But the pièce de la résistance has to be the food market not five minutes walk away from the College. A daily event, you can feast on sushi or thai, burgers or frankfurters, curry or burritos (from out of a blue Scooby Doo van – seriously).

The high quality is only matched by the low prices. Futhermore, there are numerous bars and pubs within a short walk from the campus to ensure you get you evening (or lunchtime) pint in.

If you’re looking to buy food during the day, expect to pay between ₤4 and ₤8 a day (that’s including lunch and snacks/drinks from Costa’s). If you bring your own lunch in (and many do) you shouldn’t be spending more than ₤4 daily. The biggest killer is the transport costs and for this it’s well worth getting a student Oyster card which gives some degree of relief (although when paying for a monthly ticket the relief is anything but apparent!). If you live in Zone 2, expect to pay about ₤65 a month in tube fares.

As far as fees are concerned, when you apply to do the LPC, you have to send ₤80 to the SRA in order to join the Solicitors Regulation Authority as a student member (you can’t start the LPC without having paid this sum). There is a deposit of ₤350 that also needs to be paid to College. The total fees payable to College for the 2008 full-time LPC at Moorgate were ₤10,340, although these can be paid in instalments, and includes all the books and materials you need for the year (sorry, paper, highlights and tabs not included!).

The part-time LPC was £5,170 for year one.This does not include the Solicitors Regulation Authority registration fee of £110 which is paid to the College and sent to the SRA on your behalf.

Expect to pay a substantial amount over the course of the year on stationery and in particular, highlighters and tabs which will, simultaneously, become your best friend and worst enemy.

Since the College isn’t a university there are no ´events´ as such. It’s pretty much up to you to make your own fun and organise your own events. That may sound like a hassle (and to be sure, ensuring that a decent number of people are aware that something’s happening and come can be one) but it’s another great chance to meet new people (not to mention an opportunity to get those organisational skills rolling).

The College has no union attached to it (although your student card will still get you those much loved student discounts!) so there are no “hidden” costs there. The downside to this is that there is no student bar either and so you have to go to the normal pubs and bars in the area which, although very nice, won’t feel the same after three years of subsidised drinks. Nonetheless, there are a fair few drinking holes to choose from but popular bars have tended to be All Bar One and Wetherspoons.

If you like playing football (or even if you don’t but want to run around) then there are several mini pitches within walking distance from the College and for two teams of five-a-side it’s only a few pounds per person.

The College does encourage you to create your own sporting societies and there is some funding available for this as well as the support of the secretarial team who will gladly send emails around to club members and even the entire Ccollege if you want.

If you’re on the firm-specific LPC then your firm will organise regular socials for you too. These can range from team building sessions to parties (Clifford Chance have managed to get their future trainees into London’s prestigious Mahiki, once when some Apprentices were spotted) to lectures regarding the various departments in the firm.