Choose between common law or commercial practice contexts for additional employability
BPP graduates have secured more pupillages in barristers’ chambers than those of any other provider*
Hard copies of the White Book and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice (worth over £1,100) are included in your fee
Course information
Taught by qualified lawyers with extensive practise experience, our Barrister Training Course is highly practical and simulates your future working life in chambers. From day one, you’ll learn to think and act like a barrister.
You will apply your knowledge to realistic legal scenarios of the type you are likely to encounter within pupillage. By developing your advocacy skills throughout, you will focus on learning by doing, so you emerge confident and polished before you step into a courtroom. The Bar is a fiercely competitive profession. That’s why our training is designed to help you gain the extensive knowledge and consummate advocacy skills you need to secure pupillage and start your career as a barrister.
On successful completion, you’ll be eligible to be called to the Bar of England and Wales (subject to meeting the qualifying session requirements of your Inn of Court).
Regulatory body
Authorised by the Bar Standards Board
Award achieved
Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Bar) awarded by BPP University
How you’ll learn
We offer extensive support to our students and deliver teaching using our unique five-step approach. It is built around simulated case-based learning and the development of a coaching relationship between tutor and learner that reflects the real-world practice and helps you develop the skills and the knowledge for practice and to succeed in your assessments in various ways.
Face-to-face: Study at one of our conveniently located UK study centres, providing the structure and discipline of physical teaching in a collaborative environment.
Online lectures: Available live and on-demand. Live sessions are fully interactive with dedicated classroom software. Features expert tutors with current and previous commercial experience from firms.
Small group sessions: Delivered in-centre and involve a wide range of different learning and teaching techniques. Advocacy sessions will only feature groups of up to 5 for enhanced learning.
Dedicated tutor and 1-2-1 mentoring: Throughout your studies, you will have the support of a dedicated personal tutor and opportunities to sign up for one-to-one mentoring.
BPP Adapt: Through our innovative learning platform, BPP Adapt, you can track your progress, understand your strengths and target areas for improvement, ensuring you’re fully prepared to pass your exams.
Virtual Practice Environment: Through our Virtual Practice Environment, you will experience realistic briefs and case handling in a way that mirrors a legal practice intranet in a Barristers’ chambers.
The Hub: This is the home of your learning materials, course notes and recorded lectures. You can ask questions and chat with tutors alongside dedicated support and guidance from specialist support teams.
Study modes
Study Modes
Full-time
Our full-time BTC has a minimum duration of 8 months (this is comprised of two parts, each lasting 4 months). For Part One, you will study for 10 hours per week, split across 3 or 4 days. 30 hours of independent learning per week is also required. For Part Two, you will study for 8 hours per week, with 32 hours of independent learning per week also required.
Part-time
Part-time study is available in our London Holborn centre, with a minimum duration of 20 months — this is comprised of four parts, each lasting four months, plus a summer break. Typically, you will study for 10 hours on one weekend per month.
Study in 2 parts
As part of our new flexible approach, you can choose to study our BTC Part 1 and BTC Part 2 as standalone courses. This is designed to increase the flexibility of undertaking Bar training.
By taking this route, you will have the option to pause your training before progressing to BTC Part 2, allowing you to fit your training around personal commitments, gaining work experience, or waiting for the results of your centralised assessments.
After completing both parts separately, you will achieve the awards of Postgraduate Certificate in Legal Practice (Bar Part 1) and Postgraduate Certificate in Legal Practice (Bar Part 2).
Currently, admission onto BTC Part 2 is only available to those who have completed BTC Part 1. You must complete both BTC Part 1 and BTC Part 2 to be eligible to be called to the Bar of England and Wales.
