The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published its second Annual Report to the Board on Bar Training covering the period from September 2022 to November 2023 along with a further report giving detailed statistics on enrolment, results and student progression by course provider.
The Report provides the Board with in-depth insights into how the BSB seeks to ensure that standards are set, met, and assured during both the vocational and pupillage components of Bar training. The Report contains statistics on enrolment, results and trends in vocational training to become a barrister, and student progression onto pupillage in England and Wales showing the relationship between degree classification and university attended and the likelihood of obtaining pupillage. It contains a number of key points from the period under review, including information on the Thematic Review of vocational course providers’ admissions arrangements and how they support student progression; the development of advocacy and negotiation courses during pupillage; our ongoing research into barriers to diversity in pupillage recruitment; and the development of a possible barrister apprenticeship.
We are also publishing our annual report on Bar Training statistics by course provider. This report offers more detailed statistics on results and progression broken down by course provider and aims to provide prospective Bar students with more information about the different courses and course providers which are now available.
Commenting on the two reports, the Director General of the BSB, Mark Neale, said “We hope that these reports will be read by all those who have an interest in training for the Bar. They demonstrate how the BSB seeks to ensure that high standards are being maintained, but also the steps we have taken to improve the accessibility, flexibility and affordability of Bar training. We hope that they will be of particular use to students who are considering their options in training for the Bar.”
Full details on these findings can be found in the Reports, which can be found here (training Report) and here (statistics Report).
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About the Bar Standards Board
Our mission is to regulate barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales in the public interest. For more information about what we do visit: http://bit.ly/1gwui8t
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