The largest course providers are BPP Law School, City Law School and The University of Law. The PGDL tends to be offered through private institutions or universities. In 1977, the former Inns of Court School of Law (now merged into City, University of London) launched their CPE/PGDL programme, which was the first of its kind in England and Wales.

2.1 Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law.

Some law students study for four years (rather than three years, although this is usually only the case for students taking a combined law degree with the LPC, or for those whose courses include study abroad), making it possible for both non-law and law graduates of the same starting year to finish at the same time, with the CPE providing the 'foundations of legal knowledge'. It is regulated by the Law Society of England and Wales with admissions handled through the Central Applications Board. The CPE is one (full-time) or two (part-time) years long, and successful candidates may proceed to either the Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors or the Barrister Training Course (BTC) for barristers. Most CPE courses award a diploma and are thus often titled Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL). Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the course is designed as an intense programme covering roughly the same content as a law degree LL.B (Hons) and the main goal is to allow people with a greater variety of educational backgrounds into the legal profession. The course thus allows non-law students to convert to law after university (exceptions exist for non-graduates depending on circumstances) it is also commonly known as a 'law conversion course'. It is being replaced by the Solicitor Qualifying Examination (SQE) which was introduced on 1 September 2021.

The Common Professional Examination/Postgraduate Diploma in Law ( CPE/PGDL) is a postgraduate law course in England and Wales that is taken by non-law graduates (graduates who have a degree in a discipline that is not law or not a qualifying law degree for legal practice) wishing to become either a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.

Cpe use of english 2 pdf