Most bar school students say that the reformed vocational training course is too expensive, despite an average £4,700 fall in cost, and many question its value, a survey of trainees has revealed.
Following a lengthy consultation process, reforms to barristers’ training were introduced in 2019/20, in a bid to make it more flexible, accessible, and affordable.
A report from the regulator, the Bar Standards Board, published this week shows that the average cost of the vocational training course has fallen from £18,700 in 2018/19 to £14,000 in 2021/22.
But, a separate report from AlphaPlus Consultancy, commissioned by the BSB to evaluate the reforms, found that more than three quarters (78%) of students on the traditional three-step training pathway (degree, followed by vocation course and then pupillage) found that the course was still too expensive.
Out of 483 students, 44% said the fees were ‘very unaffordable’ and 34% said they were ‘fairly unaffordable’.
Evidence from the report’s trainee surveys found mixed opinions on whether the vocational component is valuable in its own right, beyond qualifying as a barrister. Just over half felt it was very or fairly valuable while just under half reported it was of little or no value.
Students felt that the value of course was unlikely to be recognised outside the legal profession, and said that less expensive courses were available that would enable them to develop generic transferable skills.
A new four-step pathway enables students to split the vocational course into two parts, allowing them initially to commit to the first, cheaper part, before enrolling on the second part.
The report found a wide variation in the fees charged for the first part, ranging from £1,575 (online Part 1) to approximately £5,000 (London-based in-person) for the 2021/2022 academic year.
The report by the BSB revealed that the number of students enrolled on training courses rose to 2,221 in 2020/21, from 1,685 in 2019/20, the final year of the old Bar Professional Training Course.
It also showed that the proportion of UK-domiciled students from an ethnic minority background has risen from 23% in 2011/12 to 39% in 2021/22. The percentage of overseas domiciled students undertaking the bar training course has remained at around 45% since 2015/16.
A third report, from the BSB’s central examinations board, revealed a wide variation in the pass rates across the 20 institutions offering the course.
The Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) had the highest average passing rate across both litigation subjects in all sittings from December 2020 to December 2022, at 92.5%. Hertfordshire University, which entered candidates for the first time in the December 2022 sitting, had the lowest at 21.5%.
The report said that ICCA is ‘some way ahead’ of the other providers, with the gap between it and second placed ULaw Leeds being over 31%.
Commenting on the findings of the three reports, the BSB’s director of regulatory operations, Oliver Hanmer, said: ‘I am delighted to see that, following our reforms, these reports demonstrate that our reforms are making bar training more accessible, flexible and affordable, while maintaining high standards of quality. It is also encouraging to see that Bar students have become more diverse.’
Jacob Hallam KC, chair of the Bar Council's education and training committee, expressed concerns that 'affordability clearly remains a real issue' and that 'too many students without any chance of a career at the bar' are being encouraged to undertake an expensive course.
Due to the 'extremely variable' pass rates for different course providers, Hallam advised students to 'do their research before signing up'.
He added: 'While market forces may force out poor quality courses in the future, that won’t help those embarking on their bar career now.'
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