How learning works

In-person (day release) teaching supports a strong peer learning community, enabling apprentices to learn collaboratively, receive real-time feedback and build professional confidence.

Recorded or preparatory content is completed before sessions so face-to-face time focuses on applied learning — in-depth case discussions, problem-solving and employer-relevant scenarios.

Skills Coaches support both learners and line managers in translating academic learning into workplace competence. Apprentices can also access the full suite of traditional university support services to help them to develop the necessary academic and professional skills needed for their studies.

BARBRI supports the SQE part of our Level 7 apprenticeship programme through their learning materials and market-leading technology platform.  

Apprentices can tailor on the platform a personal study plan, and the BARBRI pedagogy uses a range of market-leading approaches to maximise success in the SQE including active recall, ‘spaced repetition’ to embed learning, and exam technique practice to maximise retention and performance.

The pathway includes our planned collaboration with law faculty associated with King’s College London’s “Professional Law Institute” on topics including legal technology and AI, delivered under Queen Mary’s academic governance and in line with regulatory requirements.

Queen Mary is known for "opening the doors of opportunity", supporting learners from a range of backgrounds – reflecting that we have been ranked the top UK university for social mobility.

This pathway contributes to widening participation and social mobility through an “earn-while-you-learn” route that integrates apprentices into the workplace whilst also having the support of their university community and support services.

Apprenticeship routes are increasingly adopted across the legal sector as a high-quality path into the profession. They provide employers with a structured way to develop future cohorts and give learners a route to qualification that avoids the costs associated with traditional study-only pathways.

Our pathways are designed to widen participation and support social mobility. Apprentices are fully included in the university community and can access student support services such as advice and counselling and disability and learning difference support. This helps learners thrive academically, professionally and personally as they progress.

Employers are central to creating inclusive pathways. Through recruitment outreach, co-designed learning and applied projects, employers can broaden their talent pools, build diverse cohorts and develop the skills and behaviours needed for modern legal services provision.