What should I take at England college. I want to become a barrister. PLEASE HELP URGENT.?

Question

I want to become a barrister in England and am going college next week. I want to know if the options I've chosen are alright or should I have taken something else?

I've taken Modern World History, Law, Government and Politics and English Literature and Language.

Are these right or should I take something else? If so, what should I take and what should I change it with? By the way I'm going to a sixth form college. My friend who also wants to do the same has taken Psychology and Sociology instead of English and Politics. Should I have done that too? Please help! I start on Monday!

Answer 1

Your options sound fine.  To be a lawyer of either profession (solicitor or barrister) it's a good idea to take essay based subjects such as the ones you've chosen as they help to develop the requisite skills you will need later on in your career.  The only one I would cast doubt on is, surprisingly, the law A level.  If you intend to study law at university (you can study another subject if you plan to take the law conversion course after university), you'll find that many universities prefer you not to have studied law at A level as they like students to start with a 'clean slate'.  I know it sounds crazy but that's the way it is!  If you do change subjects I would recommend taking a foreign language as the ability to speak another language is always highly regarded in the law.  I certainly wouldn't recommend that you follow your friend and take psychology and sociology - these are regarded as 'new' subjects and tend to be looked down on by people from academic backgrounds as being easy, soft options.  With competition for pupillages so strong you'll need to show a solid academic background and those 2 A levels won't do that for you!