The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

are often collectively referred to as ''Bar School''. Until September 2010, it was known as the Bar Vocational Course, or BVC. The BPTC is currently one of the most expensive legal courses in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

stage is the first of the three stages of legal education; the second is the vocational stage (the BPTC) and the third is the practical stage (

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

). On successful completion of the BPTC, 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.

Entry requirements

In addition to passing the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT), the minimum entry requirements for the BPTC is qualifying undergraduate degree in law with no less than lower second-class (2:2) honours or a non-law

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

with lower second-class (2:2) honours alongside the Graduate Diploma in Law. 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).

Criticisms

In April 2015, Chair of the Bar Council Alastair Macdonald raised concerns about the

financial risk Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financi ...

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. 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."

Providers

References

{{reflist

External links

Table of BPTC providers

BPTC provider reports

ISO 9001 to Professional Online Training for Environmental and Food Safety Management Systems

Chambers Student Guide: What is the BPTC?

Lawyer 2B: 10 factors to consider when choosing a BPTC provider
Professional certification in law Law degrees Bar of England and Wales Legal profession exams Legal education in the United Kingdom Law enforcement in Wales

Entry requirements

Criticisms

Providers

See also

References

External links