We welcome applications from able candidates for studying the BPTC qualification (formerly BVC). Successful applicants will normally hold at least a 2.1 degree.
This criterion will be considered in light of other relevant factors including:
- commitment to the profession
- communication skills
- an aptitude for advocacy
- commitment to undertaking a course with us
Interviews for admission to BPTC courses at Kaplan Law School
All shortlisted applicants will be required to attend a selection day. This is due to the limited number of places on the London course and our desire to recruit a bright cohort of students. The selection day will take place in early February 2012. Applicants will undertake the following: an interview, an oral advocacy exercise and a written advocacy exercise.
Applicants will not be required to undertake any particular preparation in advance of the day. Whilst none of the exercises require detailed legal knowledge, it will be assumed that all applicants have completed at least one term on the GDL or equivalent.
Places on the Kaplan Bar Course will be offered to those who, in the view of the law school team, perform best (as compared to other candidates) taking all elements of the selection process in to account.
An Overview of the BPTC Entry Requirements
The academic stage is the first part of training for the Bar and consists of a "qualifying law degree" or a degree in another subject supplemented by the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or an approved Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) course.
The academic stage is designed to ensure that the student has a basic body of legal knowledge, which may be assumed and built upon at the vocational stage (BPTC). Students should note however that neither entry to a law degree or the CPE/GDL, nor successful completion thereof, is a guarantee of progress onto the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) for intending barristers.
The standard requirement for completion of the Academic Stage is a 2.2 UK honours degree or its equivalent; this applies to law and non-law degrees alike. Under the consolidated regulations of the Inns of Court and the General Council of the Bar, professional qualifications may not be accepted in lieu of this requirement.
In addition to the 2.2 minimum requirement, students must study the foundations of Legal knowledge, which now form the academic stage of legal education and which are compulsory for professional exemption purposes where students are seeking to enter the vocational stage of legal education and training.
Bar Standards Board Requirements
The Bar Standards Board also requires all students prior to enrolling on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) to:
- become a member of an Inn of Court (by the May preceding the course)
- have achieved a score of 7.5 or above in all subjects of the British Council IELTS test. This applies only to those for whom English is not a first language.
Find out more about the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) application process.