The Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT), which all aspiring barristers must pass to gain a place on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), is to have its pass mark raised to exclude students who would be unlikely to pass the course or secure pupillage.

Manchester Metropolitan University has been given conditional approval to deliver its new Bar course from September 2020 by the Bar Standards Board. 

Nearly 20% fewer Bar Professional Training Course students had completed the course in 2019/20 as of May 2021, compared with the 2018/19 cohort, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) reported in July – an additional 2.5% had withdrawn from the course at this stage. 

In the latest episode of The LawCareers.Net Podcast, LawCareers.Net’s Bethany Wren speaks with Bar student and LCN vlogger Dani Alaka about her journey to becoming a barrister.

The woman I was a month ago and the woman I am today are two very different people and it’s all thanks to beginning my Bar Vocational Studies course at City, University of London.

A Bar course is the mandatory vocational stage of training for aspiring barristers before they commence pupillage.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) was replaced by a range of new Bar courses in September 2020. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here is LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) was replaced by a range of new Bar courses as of September 2020. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here is LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) was replaced by a range of new Bar courses in September 2020. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here’s LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) was replaced by a range of new Bar courses in September 2020. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here’s LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course at an education provider that's been approved by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). All aspiring barristers must complete a Bar course in order to be ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Read LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses to understand what you need to do to reach qualification as a barrister.

To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course at an education provider that's been approved by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). All aspiring barristers must complete a Bar course in order to be ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Read LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses to understand what you need to do to reach qualification as a barrister.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) has been replaced by a range of new Bar courses. To become a barrister, students must pass a Bar course approved by the Bar Standards Board. All approved Bar courses lead to the same destination – being ‘called to the Bar’, which enables you to apply for a pupillage. Here is LawCareers.Net’s guide to Bar courses.

Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) exams will be moved online, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has revealed.

Having delayed exams as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the BSB recently confirmed that assessments for the BPTC (soon to be replaced by a new range of Bar courses), as well as exams for the Bar Transfer Test, will now take place online in August, with resits scheduled for December.

The Bar Standards Board’s 2021-22 budget foresees a 40% increase in student fees from last year, despite declining numbers of pupillages available. The regulator has predicted an income of £1.35 million from Bar training, compared with £958,000 last year and £657,000 in 2019.

The winner of the Bar Pro Bono Award 2016 has been announced as John Collins of Zenith Chambers. 

The Bar Pro Bono Unit has announced that it is undergoing a number of reforms to modernise its service for the 21^st Century and from today (22 October, the first day of Pro Bono Week) has changed its name to ‘Advocate’.

Nearly 25% of pupils are reportedly experiencing financial hardships and around 30% expressed a desire to leave the Bar due to work-life balance.

Pupil barristers will have access to virtual criminal hearings to help them develop their advocacy skills, as part of an observation scheme created by the South Eastern Circuit.

The Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) discussions about reforming barrister training should be made more urgent by its latest statistics report, which shows that over 60% of those who complete the prohibitively expensive Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) never go on to secure pupillage.