Bar Placement Scheme

The Bar Placement Scheme allows students to spend up to four days shadowing a barrister in chambers and in court. Participants receive advocacy training from the Inns of Court College of Advocacy.

This is an excellent opportunity to build up your skills and CV, and to work out whether a career at the Bar would be suitable for you.

Applications for 2024 have now closed. Dates for Bar Placement Scheme 2025 are yet to be finalised and will be announced next year.

Eligibility criteria

This programme is now only open to undergraduate students.

To deliver the Bar Placement Scheme, the Bar Council works with Pathways to Law and the Social Mobility Foundation.

Undergraduate students who previously attended a state-educated sixth form and college can apply to the scheme. Places are awarded on the following criteria:

Quality of the application
Demonstrated commitment to, and interest in, a career as a barrister
Fulfilment of at least two of the following social mobility criteria:
1. must be currently or have previously attended a state school or college (in year 12, 13 or 1^st year undergraduate)
2. you'll be the first in your family to attend university
3. have been eligible for Free School Meals.

When and where does it run?

When

The Bar Placement Scheme 2024 has finished. Dates for 2025 will be announced next year.

Where

Number of places and locations are yet to be finalised.

Advocacy training

Advocacy training will take place in London. If you are a student in the north, the location of the advocacy training is yet to be finalised.

Chambers: host a student

If you are interested in hosting a student for Bar Placement Scheme 2025, please contact [email protected].

The Bar Council is grateful to the Council of the Inns of Court, the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, and the four Inns of Court for supporting the Bar Placement Scheme.

Bar Placement Scheme Blog Competition winners

Each year, we invite students to submit a short blog describing their experiences during the week. We are consistently overwhelmed with the quality of responses.