For the first time in its history the St Ignatius Catholic School in George Town in Grand Cayman will be offering an AS Law course to both its students and graduates of other schools.

Walkers, a leading Cayman Islands law firm, has joined forces with St Ignatius Catholic School and the Cayman Islands Law School to offer the course.

Walkers is the sole sponsor of the course, which is being offered exclusively by the St Ignatius Catholic School.

The AS Level Law course has been added to the St Ignatius curriculum primarily in response to an increasing number of students in the Cayman Islands who want to pursue a career in law.

The course allows students to sample the study of law before committing themselves to the subject at undergraduate level.

Currently, there are nine students enrolled in the programme, which operates as a 'twilight' course after school hours and is taught by a lecturer from the Cayman Islands Law School.

The course is open to students who have graduated from St Ignatius or any other school with a minimum of 4 or 5 higher grade passes at IGCSE or CXC.

Peter Embleton, Principal of St Ignatius, said, "The AS Level Law Course reinforces the commitment of St Ignatius to provide a first rate curriculum for students in Cayman." "Both Walkers and the Cayman Islands Law School have been extremely supportive of the programme and we are grateful for their assistance. Walkers' sponsorship helps us to meet the cost of providing tuition and textbooks," Mr Embleton said.

"Furthermore, a partner from Walkers will conduct a lecture on the legal profession and the firm will assist as required with the delivery of certain subject matter relating to the course.  In addition, Walkers will provide a prize for the best law student."

The programme received approval from the Attorney General, Hon Samuel Bulgin, who granted permission for the Cayman Islands Law School to deliver the course.

Chief Officer of the Legal Portfolio, Cherryl Richards, was also involved in the approval process and actively supports the programme along with the Hon Alden McLaughlin, Minister of Education, Training, Employment, Youth, Sports and Culture.

Now in the fourth week of classes, the course gives students a sense of the academic rigour involved in the study of law, in terms of the required reading, the standard of written work and the need to be able to accurately and concisely articulate arguments and points of view.

Regardless of whether or not students ultimately choose to pursue a career in law, they can benefit immensely from taking the course, the St Ignatius School said.

Both St Ignatius Catholic School and the Cayman Islands Law School agree that the programme is an excellent head-start for those who do go on to study law.

Mitchell Davies, Director of Legal Studies at the Cayman Islands Law School, believes that the course actually gives students who enroll an advantage in some areas over those do not.

Mr Davies said, "The Cayman Islands Law School is very excited to be a part of this joint venture. The initiative has provided students with a new and challenging programme of study which will help them decide whether or not their future career ambitions lie in the practice of law."

Mr Davies added that, "We very much hope to see applications from many of the St. Ignatius students to the Cayman Islands Law School LLB programme in the not too distant future."

Walkers Partner, Mark Lewis, remarked that the firm was delighted to sponsor the AS Level Law Course.

"The collaboration between Walkers, St. Ignatius and the Cayman Islands Law School provides a fine example of what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together," Mr Lewis said.

"This programme benefits our community in many ways. It provides more opportunities for Caymanian students, it enhances the standard of education for school leavers and effectively supplies employers in Cayman with students who have a wider and more diverse range of skills and qualifications. Walkers is particularly pleased to be able to make this contribution in an area of study in which the firm has a specific interest."