Barrister Training Course (Master's)

Entry requirements

The entry requirements to study the Barrister Training Course (BTC) are:

• A qualifying law degree or non-law degree plus our Law Foundations Course, or a CPE/GDL/PGDL (minimum 2:1)
• Fluency in English
• Membership of an Inn of Court
• Receipt of a satisfactory reference

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

BPP graduates have secured more pupillages in barristers’ chambers than those of any other training providers.

Developed in close consultation with professionals and members of the Bar, our Barrister Training Course (Master’s) offers excellent pupillage rates in a highly competitive environment.

Learning that feels like practice

Our BTC is taught through an integration of knowledge and barrister skills which replicates real-life practice, while receiving support and regular feedback from our expert tutors.

• Learn from experienced barristers in the context of realistic case studies and gain the knowledge and skills you need to pass your assessments and prepare for pupillage.
• Hone your skills and receive detailed feedback with small group advocacy classes of up to five.
• Practice in a courtroom environment. Our centres are complete with mock courtrooms, building your confidence in a setting that mirrors your future workplace.
• Hard copies of the White Book and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice (worth over £1,200) are included in your fee.
• Written skills are taught in both common law and commercial practice contexts, ensuring you experience a wide variety of practice areas.
• Centralised BSB assessments are split out over the course of the programme so you can focus on one set of assessments at a time.

Innovative learning methods with proven results

Our technology driven approach to developing knowledge and skills maximises your success with law training that’s tailored to you.

• Virtual Practice Environment: Experience realistic briefs and case handling in a way that mirrors a legal practice intranet in a Barristers’ chambers.
• Adapt: Our unique platform embeds your course learning in AI that tracks your progress, measures your strengths, and develops your target areas for improvement.

Bridge to the Bar

Once you accept you place, you will get access to our Bridge to the Bar programme. Designed to help you transition from your degree towards the next step in legal training with us to 40 hours of additional study. The programme is made up of Preparing for the BTC, Legal Technology, and Virtual Mini Pupillage modules.

Your career, guaranteed

Our Career Guarantee offers peace of mind for your plans to become a barrister.

If you don’t secure pupillage within six months of passing the BTC, our Career Guarantee means you’ll be able to study our SQE1 Preparation course or Career Boost package, free of charge.

Assessment method

You will be assessed through a variety of methods across our BTC courses, including:

· Bar Standards Board (BSB) centralised assessments

· Coursework (to test written and oral skills)

· Examinations (including multiple choice and problem-based questions)

Modules

You will complete Preparing for Pupillage 1 and 2, which are designed to reflect the level and standard of work you can expect to encounter during your first and second six of pupillage. You will learn in the context of realistic case studies, many of which are based on real cases that our experienced tutors have dealt with in practice.

You will also complete a professional project module.

Preparing for Pupillage 1:

You will follow the typical life cycle of civil cases. You will thematically study civil litigation and evidence, which will be integrated with submission advocacy and drafting and the pervasive skills of legal research, case analysis, as well as professional ethics.

Through face-to-face workshops, you will experience how a barrister’s procedural knowledge works hand-in-hand with the use of skills.

Preparing for Pupillage 2:

You will continue to develop the knowledge and skills required to be an effective pupil barrister, while following the typical life cycle of criminal cases. You will study criminal themes, each of which integrates with the oral skills of conference, cross examination and examination-in-chief.

You will attend workshops in each of the aforementioned oral skills and simulate life in practice by meeting with the client at various stages of proceedings and then conducting the witness handling in the client's trial.

The opinion writing and legal research module comprises several workshops based on common and commercial law cases, ensuring that you experience a wide variety of practice areas. The work replicates the type of work you will encounter in practice.

Professional project

This independent research project requires you to produce a professional asset, for example, a briefing note, presentation, article, report, or training session. You can choose the subject matter for the project to reflect your own interests. This will build on your previous studies and may relate to a specific area of law or practice.

Alongside the creation of a professional asset, you’ll also need to submit a detailed reflective statement, evidencing your ability to act autonomously, with reflection on your learning and personal development throughout the project. You will receive guidance and support throughout the project, including online resources and structured meetings with a tutor supervisor.

Information for international students

We welcome students from around the world to undertake their legal training with us. Both our Barrister Training Course (BTC) and LLM Legal Practice (Bar) qualify for a student visa.

Fees and funding

This course is eligible for postgraduate funding.

To widen access to the legal profession, we offer an extensive range of funding options and scholarships to ensure finance isn’t a barrier to a promising legal career.