University of Kent > Careers > Applications & Interviews > Example CVs, Covering Letters & Application Forms
There is strong competition for the Bar Professional Training Course, with approximately 3000 applications for 1800 BPTC places, and you need to make your application as strong as you can. This outline of the online application form may be helpful – the form itself can be accessed at https://www.barprofessionaltraining.org.uk during the application period (mid-October to mid-January).
For current law students, this will be “Qualifying Law Degree (QLD)” leading on to the next section:
Choose your institution and course from the drop-down lists. Medway students should note that the only option for Kent students is “Kent University, Canterbury”
Under “Final year grade” current students should choose “To be notified” from the drop-down list.
Have you transferred credit from one Qualifying Law Degree to another during your QLD course?
This will not apply to most students but, if you have changed universities during your QLD and have transferred credits, you will need to tick the “Yes” box and state which university you transferred from.
Students who transfer credit from one institution to another are required to apply for a Certificate of Academic Standing (Credit Transfer) once the degree has been completed and awarded to ensure that the credit transfer may be confirmed as acceptable, and that the degree awarded meets the Bar’s minimum entry requirement. A full transcript listing all subjects taken and all marks obtained during all years of the degree from both Institutions must accompany this application. An application form for this purpose can be downloaded from www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/Educationandtraining/academicstage/formsandguidance
“If you are completing your QLD under a recognised collaborative arrangement”
This will apply to Kent students at Mid-Kent College and Bermuda College.
“Have you applied for and obtained a Certificate of Academic Standing (Credit Transfer) from the Bar Standards Board?”
I
f you are a current student then no, as you can only apply for this once your degree has been awarded.
If you have entered details of your Qualifying Law Degree on the Academic Stage Page, you do not need to enter this again.
If your QLD is “senior status” and you already have a degree in another subject you can enter details of this here.
This section provides you with the opportunity to explain how any recent employment that you have completed is relevant to your application and you should make use of the box labelled “How did this post help you to develop skills relevant to practising as a barrister?” These skills could, for example, include communication and time management skills.
This section should not include work placements relevant to law (including mini-pupillages) as these are dealt with elsewhere in the form.
This is a drop-down menu and for most students will be England & Wales unless you are an international student who plans to return home to practise.
If you haven’t joined an Inn yet you still have to choose one here, although your choice on the BPTC form will not commit you to that particular Inn if you should later change your mind. It is a good plan to have joined an Inn before applying for this course as this helps to demonstrate your motivation – and you must be a member of an Inn before you can start the BPTC in September.
This is unlikely to apply to any current undergraduates
This is the most important section – the one that will “make or break” your application - and you need to take plenty of time over it. Think carefully about what you are going to write under each category and make sure that it is clearly expressed. Don’t use clichéd phrases or over-elaborate language and double-check your spelling and grammar.
Below are some suggestions for what providers would expect to see in the different categories.
Please detail any mini-pupillages or other Bar-related experience that you have undertaken (3000 characters)
Include activities such as marshalling or Court visits here; also experience with solicitors’ firms, in-house legal departments and in other legal jurisdictions.
Typically, BPTC providers like to see at least 3 mini-pupillages and some experience with solicitors’ firms but don’t think that the more mini-pupillages you list the better – “get a life!”, as one provider said.
It is also helpful if you can say what you learned from this experience – practical skills (such as drafting or dealing with clients) or the insight that it gave you into the legal profession – this will strike a more positive note than just a list of placements.
Please explain why you want to train as a barrister (2000 characters)
Give CONCISE reasons for wishing to pursue a career at the Bar. You may include information about experience related to voluntary work and vacation placements. A mature appreciation of what a career at the Bar involves, and evidence of genuine commitment, is looked for. You may want to say why you feel that being a barrister, rather than a solicitor, is the right career for you, but don’t “put down” the solicitor’s profession. Involvement in student societies, or having already joined an Inn, will also help to demonstrate this motivation.
Provide specific examples of your ability to quickly and accurately analyse large amounts of written information (2000 characters)
This is something that all law students have to do as part of their studies so you need to go beyond the basics and give the specific examples requested. A dissertation-based module, for example, could provide evidence of this ability within the context of your degree. If you have undertaken an assessed mini-pupillage this often involves producing a piece of written work, such as a legal opinion, that requires these skills. Casework in the Law Clinic or in a vacation placement; reading the documents in the case before observing a client conference during a mini-pupillage (and asking intelligent questions based on them!) or preparing for a moot or a mock trial could also be used here.
Provide specific examples of when you have displayed exceptional communication /interpersonal skills (2000 characters)
You should give evidence of your ability to deal with people at all levels. Relevant experience may include any positions of responsibility you have held; occasions when you have had to deal with members of the public; experience at a managerial or supervisory level; any representative positions such as sitting on committees and experience of working with people under difficult circumstances. Think about the way that you will have to work with people at the bar – colleagues, clients and other professionals – and relate your experience to this.
The following quotes give an idea of the type of skills required:
“You need to be able to deal comfortably with a client with a limited understanding of the law who may be in a stressful situation (such as a police cell)”
“Intellectual ability is only part of it: a successful barrister must have confidence, ambition, common sense and an ability to get on well with clients, solicitors, other members of Chambers and the clerks”
“As a family law barrister you may have to be the one to has to advise a father that a court is not going to allow him to see his teenage son, or a mother that she has lost custody of her new baby”
“As a barrister, you will meet a lot of people that you wouldn’t otherwise choose to have anything to do with – and I don’t just mean clients! You need to be able to relate to them all in a polite and professional way, however difficult it (and they) may be”
“You have to take the flak, sometimes from the magistrates, who can get rather angry when defendants fail to turn up, and sometimes from your clients, who can get even angrier when they don’t get bail”.
Concentrate on your ability to relate to people: to advise them, inspire their trust and confidence, get information from them, empathise with them, handle queries, criticism and even anger. Persuasive and negotiation skills could be mentioned here or in the advocacy section, depending on how much material you have available to use these sections.
Provide specific examples of how you have developed your advocacy / public speaking skills preferably since the age of 18 (2000 characters)
Any experience of public speaking or advocacy, such as debating, mooting, teaching, campaigning, making presentations or making representations on someone else’s behalf. Include details of any outcomes – even if you didn’t win the moot or debate, say what you learned from the experience. “Competitive” advocacy, such as mooting/debating, is usually viewed more favourably than drama or public speaking. Negotiation and sales experience would also be relevant here.
Describe a time when you have been particularly under pressure and how you organised your work (2000 characters)
Any experience of dealing with pressure in employment, personal life or education and how you dealt with multiple activities at the same time. Try and find something more than “getting all my essays in on time” or “combining study with a part-time job” – most students have to do this! Coping with the unexpected; being flexible and being able to change your plans, or find a new way of accomplishing something at short notice, is also a highly relevant skill for the Bar.
It’s a good idea to use this section rather than leave it blank, but do make sure that the information you give is, as requested, relevant! This could be an opportunity to add in any information that you haven’t had enough space to do in earlier sections, or to explain any disappointing exam results along the way, or describe an extra-curricular activity that is particularly important to you.
You are required to provide the details of two referees: both should be current and academic where possible. Do not ask family or friends to be your referee!
Your referees should be able to give a good insight into your character and aptitude for the Bar. The Law School gives the following advice on references https://www.kent.ac.uk/law/currentug/lawadvisors/references.html:
Usually you should approach a member of staff who has taught you, or a previous tutor.
Academic references require statements on such subjects as an individual’s academic capability, willingness to participate, and commitment and communication skills. References for employment and other purposes may ask the referee to make a judgment on an individual's reliability, personal integrity or timekeeping. This is information that will usually be best provided by someone who has some personal knowledge of you and your work.
However, this is not always possible and the Student Advisors will act as the reference writer of 'last resort'. For example, where, for some reason, you are unable to obtain a reference, such as when a relevant teacher has left. In these circumstances the Advisors will still have to request information from members of staff who have taught you. This may mean some delay and it is therefore in your interest to make such a request for a reference as early as possible.
The Student Advice Office keeps a reference bank and we aim to keep copies of references written for future use. If you do get one directly from an academic, please ask them to provide us with an electronic copy.
The Careers Advisory Service pages on references at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/referees.htm may also be helpful
This is where you list your choice of BPTC providers - as many as you wish. Your application goes to your first three choices in the first round then opens up to the rest of the choices in the clearing round. You cannot add choices after submitting the form so should use this section to its full extent at this stage.
The course providers will know where you have placed them in your order of preference, but they will be unable to see the other courses you have selected or your reasons for doing so.
The questions in this section aim to help the Bar Standards Board monitor the career paths of those applying for and entering the Bar so that we can gain a better understanding of how people from a range of backgrounds (ethnic, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religious or socio-economic) progress in their careers. If you wish to know more about how this data will be used, there is a link on this page to full information. It will not play any part in the BPTC selection process.
That’s it! You can use the Print Preview/Print facility to keep a hard copy of your application and will have a chance to review the form and complete any missed sections before submitting it (the system will not accept your submission if any compulsory questions have not been answered). You will also need to pay the £40 application fee, by debit or credit card, when you submit the form.
If you have any other questions about your application, you may find the answer in the FAQs pages https://www.barprofessionaltraining.org.uk/s4/oa/candidates/questions.asp#,
or come in to the Careers Service and ask Jenny Keaveney or Jenny Walters for advice.
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