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Churchill College has 10–15 undergraduates studying Law at any one time. We aim to take 3–5 new students each year in the subject. We have two Teaching Fellows in Law, which means that we have an excellent student-to-teacher ratio. Churchill has produced outstanding examination results in Law in recent times; we have finished among the top five Cambridge colleges in Law during nine of the past eleven years, and we have finished #1 in three of those years (as well as #1 for the eleven years taken as a whole). Like the other handful of Cambridge colleges that have excelled in Law, we admit quite a small number of students (though, it should be noted, Law is one of the largest Arts subjects at Churchill). The relatively small size of the contingent of Law students enables us to devote more attention to each student than would be possible with a much larger group.
What sort of person are we looking for?
When we consider applications from people who wish to study Law at Churchill, our principal criterion for selection is that of intellectual excellence. We are looking for people who have performed superbly in their academic work heretofore and who are determined to put in the effort needed to perform well at Cambridge. If you are not prepared to spend 50-60 hours of your time each week on your studies, then Law is probably not the appropriate subject for you.
Arts subjects at A-level are not required for the study of Law. Many applicants who study only Sciences subjects at A-level have achieved fine results in Law at Churchill. Because we believe that the more 'traditional' and rigorous A-level subjects provide the best preparation for the study of Law, we greatly prefer subjects such as Mathematics, Further Mathematics, History, Latin, Greek, English Language, English Literature, Philosophy, Physics, Chemistry, Government & Politics, Economics, Psychology, French or any other foreign language, Classics, Biology, Geography, and so forth. Though we do not frown upon the taking of Law at A-level, we do not in any way require it or even recommend it. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to take four A-level subjects. Taking more than four subjects is perfectly acceptable but not necessary; what is necessary is that you attain excellent marks in four A-levels.
In order to maintain our academic prowess in Law, we have to apply extremely stringent standards for admission. To stand any chance of success, an applicant will have to have achieved exceptionally strong marks at GCSE level and will have to be demonstrably on the way to achieving similarly impressive marks in his or her A-levels. Virtually everyone admitted during the last decade has attained at least 9A*s at GCSE; we are very unlikely to call for interview any applicant who has fewer than 5A*s at GCSE or an average of less than 90% at AS-level across his/her three most relevant subjects. We ordinarily favour students completing 4 A-levels and normally attach a condition of A*A*AA to any offer of admission in Law. We expect IB and Scottish Advanced Higher applicants to be similarly high-achieving, and anticipate calling for interview those predicted an overall score of 41 or 42 in the IB , with 7, 7, 7 at Higher Level, or grades AAA in Advanced Highers. An applicant whose credentials do satisfy our very high minimum standards will undergo a 30-minute interview and a 45-minute written test, on the basis of which a final decision will be made. Both the interview and the written test are designed solely to test the proficiency of each applicant in analytical reasoning. We do not expect applicants to have any knowledge of law. Consequently, no preparation for the interview and the written test is necessary or even advisable.
