*/
Only 23% of black and ethnic minority Bar school graduates from the UK and EU got a pupillage last year, according to figures released by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).
That figure was up by 2.5% on the previous year, but showed a marked disparity with their white counterparts who were more than twice as likely to get a pupillage, with almost 50% successful.
Among the UK/EU-domiciled BPTC graduates, 50% of pupillages were awarded to women, up from 48% last year.
The statistics revealed that the overall chance of getting a pupillage is slim, with less than 43% of those who enrolled on the course from 2012/13-2015/16 having started one. That figure dropped to around 41% when including 2016/17 graduates as they have had less time in which to obtain pupillage.
The BSB figures also showed that 815 (57%) of the 1,424 students enrolled on the BPTC in 2016/17 passed and 13% achieved the highest grade, ‘outstanding’ (those figures may rise once retakes are taken into account).
The performance rates do not appear to have affected the number of students applying to take the course, which can cost up to £20,000. The BSB report showed that the number of applications for the BPTC for 2016/17 was 2,917, seven more than in 2015/16.
The BSB is looking at proposals to change the course, while the Bar Council has backed plans for the Inns of Court College of Advocacy to deliver a new two-part BPTC for about half the cost.
Ewen Macleod, BSB Director of Strategy and Policy, said: ‘We hope that this latest set of statistics will help students to gauge their chances of success within the current qualification model.’
Only 23% of black and ethnic minority Bar school graduates from the UK and EU got a pupillage last year, according to figures released by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).
That figure was up by 2.5% on the previous year, but showed a marked disparity with their white counterparts who were more than twice as likely to get a pupillage, with almost 50% successful.
Among the UK/EU-domiciled BPTC graduates, 50% of pupillages were awarded to women, up from 48% last year.
The statistics revealed that the overall chance of getting a pupillage is slim, with less than 43% of those who enrolled on the course from 2012/13-2015/16 having started one. That figure dropped to around 41% when including 2016/17 graduates as they have had less time in which to obtain pupillage.
The BSB figures also showed that 815 (57%) of the 1,424 students enrolled on the BPTC in 2016/17 passed and 13% achieved the highest grade, ‘outstanding’ (those figures may rise once retakes are taken into account).
The performance rates do not appear to have affected the number of students applying to take the course, which can cost up to £20,000. The BSB report showed that the number of applications for the BPTC for 2016/17 was 2,917, seven more than in 2015/16.
The BSB is looking at proposals to change the course, while the Bar Council has backed plans for the Inns of Court College of Advocacy to deliver a new two-part BPTC for about half the cost.
Ewen Macleod, BSB Director of Strategy and Policy, said: ‘We hope that this latest set of statistics will help students to gauge their chances of success within the current qualification model.’
The profession has already tackled many uncertainties and risks
How seriously should barristers’ chambers take the threat of cyberattack and how can they best protect themselves? Doug Hargrove offers some expert advice
With a mandate to advance best practice in crypto fraud cases and investigations, and improve recovery outcomes for victims, CFAAR (the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery network) founders Nick Price and Aidan Larkin discuss plans for the new network
Q&A with Carmel King of Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Insolvency and Asset Recovery practice
AlphaBiolabs is extending its support to vulnerable families once again this Christmas
An update by Rachel Cooper of Coram Chambers
A barrister-authors cultural life and times includes an obsession with all things medieval and what it means to be British
As we face 2022, the profession feels restless, the job feels relentless but we are in good hands: our new yet seasoned leader talks to Joanna Hardy-Susskind about his concerns and ambitions for the Bar, and how we protect this truly precious, national asset
Raggi Kotak and Laurie-Anne Power on the positive actions chambers can take to support a more racially inclusive environment
Can we make life in the law healthier and happier? asks Elizabeth Rimmer
Lets not look a gift horse in the mouth, writes Katie Gollop QC
