Law schools and universities are now closed for the foreseeable future. Even before the lockdown announced last night, many had already closed their doors and sent their students to learn from home for the rest of the term. But for many students, summer exams were not far away.

The reality is that these postponements could go on even longer. The virus may persist for some time before (if!) a vaccine can be rolled out and so Government-imposed lockdown and self-imposed closures may continue for the foreseeable future. So if you were due to sit your LLB, GDL or LPC exams this summer, what happens now?

BPP has closed all its buildings and cancelled all examinations until at least 27 April 2020 at the earliest. Venues such as the ExCel centre, where BPP hosts exams, are also closed until further notice. Face-to-face assessments (such as LPC skills assessments) are cancelled until the end of May 2020 at the earliest. BPP will let students know when exams are to be rescheduled for. Another option may be for online assessments.

ULaw has suspended face to face teaching and assessments until further notice. Online and coursework assessments can continue as planned, and ULaw is currently reviewing how assessments will be taken. One possibility being explored is to convert all assessments to online assessments. City University has also postponed classes for the time being, and is also reported to be considering how to move exams online.

Universities offering the LLB are considering other options. King’s College London is reported to be providing students with “take home” exams. Warwick University is to hold open book assessments over 24 hours, with answers to be submitted online.

Things to bear in mind:

The regulators (SRA and BSB) must permit law schools offering professional courses (such as the LPC and BPTC) to change their exam methods. This would likely include converting existing “exam hall”-style exams to online assessments.
The LLB is not a professional course, so universities will have much greater freedom to change their assessment methods – hence why KCL and Warwick University are able to offer take home exams, 24 hour assessments, coursework and research projects.

[Update 26 March: it looks like the SRA may allow online assessments for the LPC so that law schools do not have to postpone these until the Autumn.]

External links – your law school should contact you directly in the first instance. You can also visit the links below for the latest information from your law schools: