Bar Training Course (BTC)
Prepare for a thriving career at the Bar, with a barrister training course that supports you from the exam room to the courtroom. Learn specialist knowledge and skills in the context of realistic legal scenarios, giving you the edge to secure pupillage.
About the Bar Training Course (BTC)
Tried and tested training to secure your barrister career.
With professional skills and practical application at the forefront, our expert tutors bring their years of courtroom experience into the classroom. Get practice-ready skills you can use from day one, with small classes for advocacy training that give you the time and space you need to prepare for the Bar.
What you'll study
Our Barrister courses are designed to ensure you have the knowledge, skills, and behaviours to stand out in a competitive market.
Collaborate in an interactive classroom of up to 20 students
Advocacy and conference taught in groups of up to five
Specialist Bar Advisory Board to ensure training is aligned to practice
Instant access to Bridge to the Bar with 40 hours of additional study
Peace of mind with our Career Guarantee*
Connect with chambers across a range of specialist practice areas
Upgrade to our BTC (Master’s) to access postgraduate loan funding
Entry requirements
The entry requirements for our Barrister Training Course (BTC) are as follows:
Qualifying law degree or non-law degree plus our Law Conversion Course, or a CPE/GDL/PGDL (minimum 2:1)
Fluency in English
Membership of an Inn of Court
Receipt of a satisfactory reference
English language requirements
To study at BPP, it is important that you are able to communicate and engage in English effectively in an academic setting.
If English is not your first language, you will be required to provide proof of your ability across reading, writing, listening, and speaking in English.
Course details
From £15,500
What can I do after the Bar Training Course (BTC)?
Course structure
Follow the typical life cycle of civil cases – thematically studying civil litigation and evidence, which will be integrated with submission advocacy and drafting, along with the pervasive skills of legal research and case analysis, as well as professional ethics.
Through face-to-face workshops you will experience how a barrister’s procedural knowledge works hand-in-hand with the vital skills required at the Bar.
Modules:
Civil Litigation & Evidence (30 credits)
Submission Advocacy (15 credits)
Drafting (15 credits)
You will study criminal themes, each of which integrates with the key oral skills of conference, cross examination, and examination-in-chief. Enhancing your oral skills in realistic legal contexts, you’ll follow the life-cycle of a criminal case. You’ll meet with the client at various stages of proceedings, before conducting witness handling at the client’s trial.
For the Opinion Writing & Legal Research module, you’ll attend workshops based on common and commercial law cases. This ensures you experience a range of practice areas and replicates the work you’ll encounter in practice.
Modules:
Oral Skills (20 credits)
Criminal Litigation, Evidence & Sentencing (30 credits)
Opinion Writing & Legal Research (20 credits)
Professional Ethics (non-credit bearing)
How you'll study
Face-to-face
You’ll experience live, face-to-face teaching in a collaborative learning environment, with valuable interactive with our professionally experienced tutors, who use their expertise to bring their studies to life
Practical learning optimised for success
Apply your knowledge via simulated client scenarios within our Virtual Chambers, which mirrors legal practice to give you a real insight into life as a barrister
Performance boosted by AI
You’ll use our AI-driven adaptive learning platform, BPP Adapt. Adapt identifies your strengths and areas for improvement, adapting to your performance and flexing as you develop
Never miss an opportunity to improve
Whether you’re in-class, at home, or on the go, our learning resources are available in both hard copy and online format, including The White Book and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice, worth over £1,200
24/7 access to everything you need
Get instant access to interactive learning materials, course notes, and recorded lectures through The Hub. Our course materials are tailored to how you learn best, with the flexibility to ensure you can maximise your independent learning
Types of assessment
Bar Standards Board (BSB) centralised assessments
Coursework (to test written and oral skills)
Examinations (including multiple choice and problem-based questions)
Examinations will be in the form of oral assessments and written elements or multiple-choice questions and may be unseen or part-seen, where assessment material is released in advance.
The pass mark for these assessments is set by the BSB at 60%.
Full details on BPP University’s feedback policy on examinations and assessment can be found in the Manual of Policies and Procedures
Learning support
Access a full range of learning support services for students with any specialist learning needs.
Dates and locations
Full-time: you will have around 10 hours face-to-face teaching per week, split across three or four days. Up to 32 hours of independent learning per week is also required.
Part-time : part-time study is available with a minimum duration of 24 months — taught across six terms. Typically, you will have 10 hours face-to-face teaching on one weekend per month.
Fees and funding
2024-2025
Fees include BSB registration fee of £705.
A deposit of £350 will need to be paid within 48 hours of accepting your offer on all our courses, to secure your place.
Funding options
We offer a number of ways to support you with funding your university studies:
Postgraduate loan funding is available if you upgrade to our Barrister Training Course (Master's)
Interest-free payment plans enabling you to spread the cost of your course through instalments
A dedicated £1.4m+ Scholarship fund awarded to applicants of BPP’s postgraduate law programmes
Need to discuss finance?
If you have any questions or require help, contact us on 03300 603100.
Why choose BPP University Law School?
30+ years
of training the brightest legal talent
600+
legal employers trust us to deliver their legal training
100,000 alumni
across the globe
Studying as an international student
We welcome students from around the world, offering a culturally diverse study environment, with our specialist service helping choose your study location, correct visa, finance options and even somewhere to live.
We’re also a Student Sponsor and are fully recognised and accredited as a Higher Education Institution.
I really enjoyed the amount of advocacy we had practice of, and that's something that has really spurred me on and put me in good stead for pupillage.
Ayesha Smart Barrister Training Course (BTC)