Bar Course

Course Overview

In a demanding and rapidly changing legal landscape, the highest quality training is required to succeed as a barrister. Northumbria University’s Bar Course will support you in gaining the necessary knowledge and practical skills that are essential to practice at the modern Bar.

The new Bar professional training courses will be available from September 2020 and will replace the existing Bar Professional Training Course. Teaching on Northumbria’s Bar Course will be led by a team of highly experienced barristers and supported by a well-established network of members of the Bar, Judges and other practitioners.

You will study:

Civil Litigation (incorporating evidence and alternative dispute resolution)
Criminal Litigation (incorporating evidence and sentencing)
Advocacy
Conferencing
Drafting
Opinion Writing
Professional Ethics
Legal Research

From Bar law school you will develop the knowledge and skills to practice in a broad range of briefs. These are focused on the foundation areas of pupillage and early practice. From the outset you will be taught to think and behave like a barrister. You will be instructed in cases conducted as in practice, incorporating conferences, advocacy, drafting and opinion writing. You will also learn your professional, ethical obligations. This invaluable, practical experience will equip you to be immediately effective in pupillage.

You will benefit from generous contact hours throughout the course including dedicated exam-focused teaching sessions . During which the teaching team will share their expertise to support you in preparing for the Bar Standards Board (BSB) centralised assessments. Alongside practice-focused teaching, students will also benefit from a year-long series of workshops designed to support knowledge, understanding and exam techniques and preparation for these assessments. You may also gain, at no further cost, an additional qualification in Mediation.

Northumbria delivers opportunities to develop distinctive and unique knowledge and skills with opportunities to undertake:

Vulnerable witness training
Practitioner advocacy masterclasses
Teaching in respect of forensic science and forensic statistics
Participation in international mooting competitions
A mentoring scheme delivered in conjunction with the Bar

Together these opportunities in Bar training will allow you to distinguish yourself in a competitive environment and ultimately thrive in this prestigious profession.

On successful completion of the Bar Course you will be eligible for Call to the Bar of England and Wales (subject to meeting the qualifying requirements of your Inn of Court)

All fees are inclusive of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) fee, practitioner texts required for study, external Mediation training and the Northumbria Qualifying Dinner.

Your Career

On successful completion of the Bar Course you will be fully prepared for the demands of practice, and will be eligible for call to the Bar of England and Wales (subject to meeting the qualifying requirements of your Inn of Court).

At Northumbria, we aim to ensure that you are prepared in every way for pupillage selection and life as a barrister. The course will build on your existing legal knowledge and equip you with the skills, knowledge and values necessary for practice as an effective and successful legal professional.

Northumbria Law School is internationally-recognised as delivering excellence in training for the Bar, and we are an integral part of the local legal community. Local firms and practitioners often sponsor prizes celebrating student success on the programme – evidence of the high esteem in which our graduates are held and a remarkable opportunity for you to gain recognition.

Applicants should normally have: A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in Law or a minimum of a Commendation in the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). Applicants with a 2:2 honours degree or a Pass in the GDL will be considered exceptionally on an individual basis. All applicants are required to join one of the four Inns of Court before commencing the course, and applicants must pass the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) introduced by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Applicants must have achieved a minimum standard as specified by the BSB within the past five years.