Students with first-class degrees more likely to get pupillage, new report reveals

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The Bar Standards Board’s 2024 statistics report has found that students with a first-class degree are more likely to secure pupillage. Meanwhile, there was a “relatively low proportion” of UK-domiciled students with a 2:2 who gained pupillage – a higher proportion of these students take longer to finish vocational training than those with a 2:1 or first-class degree.

The report, covering the period from July 2023 to June 2024, also provides statistics on enrolment and pass rates on vocational Bar training.

Despite the rising costs of vocational training courses and a fall in the overall pass rate, Bar course uptake continues to grow. The number of students who enrolled on Bar training courses between July 2023 and June 2024 increased to 2,378, up from 2,234 for the July 2022 to June 2023 period. Similar growth was also evident in the periods of July 2021 to June 2022 and July 2020 to June 2021 with 2,180 and 2,120 students, respectively.

Read LawCareers.Net’s student guide to barrister training 2024/25.

The average pass rate for students who enrolled between July 2022 and October 2022 and passed all 10 modules was 71.1%. Across all Bar courses providers, the pass rate for students with a first-class degree was 90.8%, while those with a 2:1 and 2:2 had a pass rate of 72% and 37.5%, respectively.

As of June 2024, vocational training for the Bar courses have been authorised to operate at 10 different Bar training providers, spanning a total of 21 different sites.