PGDL Online BPP

Gus23

Active Member
Junior Lawyer
Mar 13, 2020
11
48
Hi everyone,

I am going to be starting the PGDL with BPP in September. I have opted to do it online, rather than Waterloo, so I can save some time on commuting.

I was wondering whether anyone else is opting to do it online, or has any experience with the PGDL at BPP? I have heard the horror stories of the university, but don't have a choice due to my firm's partnership with them.

Many thanks :)
 

Jane Smith

Legendary Member
Sep 2, 2020
229
206
I should not be on here at all really as I am a lawyer parent, but you can certainly ask anything. My sons both did the BPP PDGL last academic year, one living here at home so I have a reasonable amount of information about it. Despite doing it in separate cities in theory, it was 100% online for both of them last academic year due to covid (not their choice).

The differences for them were
(1) learning to do exams online with limited word counts and typing, not writing, answers - so that is a very different set of skills from years of handwritten exam hall exams
(2) watching things on a screen not in person (although that is not really too different) -I think they found the slides etc very well put together in most cases, but company law, which was that year the new subject on the GDL, had a bit too much material but that may have been sorted out by this year; and there were the online seminars or whatever they are called I would hear through the wall at times at home when they listened online - it was all fine really in terms of content.
(3) Multiple choice questions - obviously a new aspect for them and many other people but those were not that bad at all. As a lawyer mother I felt they learned a lot of very useful law and I was quite happy with the course (their older sisters did the GDL with BPP a while back too in person). There were definitely some initial admin issues but once they got going it was fine.

I would say most of all just try to keep up and submit what needs to be submitted on time and I believe the exams in term 1 subjects have "mock exams" fairly early on and the finals for those subjects just before Christmas, if it is the same as last year. So getting started and keeping up with what is there to be done is useful. It is much better than the GDL used to be when all the exams were in term 3. Instead you get all the exams over for half the course in December and move to the new subjects in January. That is so much easier than having to do all exams in term 3 as their sisters had to do.

I never understood or looked at their online materials but there seems to be something called The Hub and I think the VLE - Virtual Learning Environment. Sometimes they found finding things a bit hard (compared to physical text books and being emailed materials). At one point for one or two subjects they were emailed materials needed to consider before an exam as they may not have been on the hub when they should have been. "Advance materials" were sent out before exams such as case studies/emails to consider in advance and then the exam questions were issued at the exam time/day for the 3 or 4 hour slot in which you do the exams. That is new for most of us - see that kind of thing in advance and having to thikn about what might be asked although I think I would have preferred it in my day as you have some idea 7 to 14 days beforehand what you might be examined upon.

I cannot fully remember now. It was a difficult year as it was the very first PGDL course with multiple choice/SQE elements and company law, plus it was 100% online whether you liked it or not. I suspect this academic year's PDGL will have settled down a bit and be better for students.
 
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