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Becoming a barrister and securing pupillage is no mean feat. The Bar Council – the body which leads, represents and supports almost 18,000 barristers in England and Wales – released its Pupillage Gateway report earlier this year. Based on our Pupillage Gateway system used by Authorised Education and Training Providers (AETOs) to advertise pupillage opportunities, the report’s findings are useful in helping answer common questions on becoming a pupil barrister.
There’s no denying that applying for pupillage is a competitive process. The good news is the number of positions available is increasing. The number of pupillages advertised on our Gateway hit a new record of 680 this year – an increase of more than 200 since 2019/20.
The biggest indicator of success is degree classification. A little over 60% of offers went to those with a First and more than a third to those with a 2:1. However, what you study is less important. The report also found that if you did not study law at an undergraduate level, you are not disadvantaged.
Scholarship awards are another key indicator of success – 53% of the 288 offers recorded last year were received by candidates who had secured a scholarship from one of the Inns of Court, compared to 38% of those who did not.
Most successful candidates had undertaken one or more mini-pupillages. Just under 13% of candidates who had attended at least one mini-pupillage received an offer compared with 1.7% of candidates who did not.
You can also gain experience in other ways that will be useful when applying for pupillage such as by volunteering with charities like Advocate and the Free Representation Unit. It’s also important to remember that you can use almost any previous experience to your advantage when applying for pupillage, by considering how you can draw out key skills and apply them to the Bar.
The Bar Council runs several schemes and events to help students gain insight into life at the Bar including the Bar Placement Scheme, 10,000 Black Interns, and the Pupillage Fair. At our annual Pupillage Fair, you can meet chambers and employers, hear talks about life as a barrister, discuss your CV with an expert at the 1-2-1 clinic and much more. The Inns, Specialist Bar Associations and Circuits also run schemes as well as organisations like Bridging the Bar.
Dealing with rejection is never easy but our research shows that resilience does pay off as the likelihood of success increases each additional year of application. Analysis of the 2022 cohort shows that 1 in 10 receive an offer on their first attempt. But for those applying for a fourth time, the likelihood increased to 1 in 6.
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Becoming a barrister and securing pupillage is no mean feat. The Bar Council – the body which leads, represents and supports almost 18,000 barristers in England and Wales – released its Pupillage Gateway report earlier this year. Based on our Pupillage Gateway system used by Authorised Education and Training Providers (AETOs) to advertise pupillage opportunities, the report’s findings are useful in helping answer common questions on becoming a pupil barrister.
There’s no denying that applying for pupillage is a competitive process. The good news is the number of positions available is increasing. The number of pupillages advertised on our Gateway hit a new record of 680 this year – an increase of more than 200 since 2019/20.
The biggest indicator of success is degree classification. A little over 60% of offers went to those with a First and more than a third to those with a 2:1. However, what you study is less important. The report also found that if you did not study law at an undergraduate level, you are not disadvantaged.
Scholarship awards are another key indicator of success – 53% of the 288 offers recorded last year were received by candidates who had secured a scholarship from one of the Inns of Court, compared to 38% of those who did not.
Most successful candidates had undertaken one or more mini-pupillages. Just under 13% of candidates who had attended at least one mini-pupillage received an offer compared with 1.7% of candidates who did not.
You can also gain experience in other ways that will be useful when applying for pupillage such as by volunteering with charities like Advocate and the Free Representation Unit. It’s also important to remember that you can use almost any previous experience to your advantage when applying for pupillage, by considering how you can draw out key skills and apply them to the Bar.
The Bar Council runs several schemes and events to help students gain insight into life at the Bar including the Bar Placement Scheme, 10,000 Black Interns, and the Pupillage Fair. At our annual Pupillage Fair, you can meet chambers and employers, hear talks about life as a barrister, discuss your CV with an expert at the 1-2-1 clinic and much more. The Inns, Specialist Bar Associations and Circuits also run schemes as well as organisations like Bridging the Bar.
Dealing with rejection is never easy but our research shows that resilience does pay off as the likelihood of success increases each additional year of application. Analysis of the 2022 cohort shows that 1 in 10 receive an offer on their first attempt. But for those applying for a fourth time, the likelihood increased to 1 in 6.
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