Bar Professional Training Course

The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court are often collectively referred to as Bar School. Until September 2010, it was known as the Bar Vocational Course, or BVC.[1] September 2020, the BPTC will be replaced by a number of courses with each offering institute having deciding on its own nomenclature for the firm.

"BPTC" redirects here. For other uses, see Bishop Patteson Theological College.
The City Law School is one of the eight institutes to provide the BPTC.

The BPTC is currently one of the most expensive legal courses in Europe.[2]

This academic stage is the first of the three stages of legal education, the second being the vocational stage (the BPTC) and the third being the practical stage (pupillage). On successful completion of the vocational stage, which also involves completing twelve qualifying sessions, students are called to the Bar; however, only those who have successfully completed pupillage can work as barristers.[3][4]

Entry requirements

In addition to passing the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT), the minimum entry requirements for the BPTC is qualifying a Bachelor of Laws with no less than lower second-class (2:2) honours or a non-law academic degree with lower second-class (2:2) honours alongside the Graduate Diploma in Law.[5] Additionally students from outside English speaking countries are required to demonstrate their oral and written English language ability is at least equivalent to a minimum score of 7.5 in each section of the IELTS academic test or a minimum score of 73 in each part of the Pearson Test of English (academic).[6]

Criticisms

In April 2015, Chair of the Bar Council Alastair Macdonald raised concerns about the financial risk involved in taking the BPTC, claiming that "There are too many people spending too much money in order to train [. . .] with no realistic prospect of being able to make a start in the profession. In the same month, a report commissioned by the Bar Council heavily criticised BPTC providers. The report suggested that course providers were "using the system to make money from people with no realistic prospect of pupillage," and claimed that the course was "not highly regarded by practitioners." The report suggested increasing standards for the course, and introducing a new test to replace the BCAT, which currently has a 98% pass rate, though there are plans to increase the pass mark.[7][8] Jeremy Robson, a senior lecturer at Nottingham Law School, denied these claims. He noted that all prospective students receive a health warning noting the low number of pupillages compared to course places, and that the practitioners consulted in the working group were "drawn from a small section of the profession."[9]

Providers
BPTC Providers
Institution Location Circuit Approx. course fees Report Website
BPP Law School London South Eastern £19,070 Report BPP
BPP Law School Leeds North Eastern £15,680 Report BPP
BPP Law School Manchester Northern £15,680 Report BPP
BPP Law School Birmingham Midland Circuit £15,680 BPP
BPP Law School Bristol Western £15,680 BPP
Cardiff University Cardiff Wales & Chester £15,950(UK & EU) £17,650(International) Report Cardiff
The City Law School London South Eastern £18,500 Report City
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Northern £14,550 This course has been approved by Manchester Metropolitan University to start in September 2020. Pending full authorisation by the Bar Standards Board. MMU
The Inns of Court College of Advocacy London South Eastern ICCA
Northumbria University Newcastle upon Tyne North Eastern £15,050 Report Northumbria
Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Midland Circuit £14,800 Report Nottingham
The University of Law Birmingham Midland Circuit £16,250 full-time – 1 year – September 2014 Report ULaw
The University of Law Leeds North Eastern £16,250 full-time – 1 year – September 2014 Report ULaw
The University of Law London South Eastern £19,400 full-time – 1 year – September 2014 Report ULaw
University of the West of England Bristol Western £14,000 Report UWE
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See also

References
  1. "Amendments to the Bar Training Regulations – Matters relating to Pupillage" (PDF). Legal Services Board. 21 March 2011.
  2. Fiona Cownie (2010). Stakeholders in the Law School. Hart Publishing. p. 267. ISBN 978-1841137216.
  3. Adam Kramer (2007). Bewigged and Bewildered: Pupillage and a Career at the Bar. Hart Publishing. ISBN 1-84113-651-4.
  4. Croft, Janes (7 April 2015). "Bar weighs option of breaking up barristers' training". The Financial Times. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  5. Entry Requirement Archived 4 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, BPTC
  6. "English Language Requirement - Bar Standards Board". www.barstandardsboard.org.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  7. "Bar regulator announces changes to the Bar Course Aptitude Test for 2016 and 2017". Bar Standards Board. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  8. Waller-Davies, Becky (13 April 2015). "Bar Council report slams BPTC providers". The Lawyer. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  9. Robson, Jeremy (17 April 2015). "'Bar Council's attack on BPTC providers is wrong' - Nottingham Law School responds to Rivlin criticism". The Lawyer. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
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