Bar Professional Training Course, BPTC

We are one of nine educational establishments validated by the Bar Standards Board to deliver the Bar Professional Training Course. The BPTC is an experiential learning course: students learn by doing and are encouraged to realise, through practice and feedback, their full potential.

Nottingham Law School has a proven track record in practical skills training and is one of only nine educational establishments validated by the Bar Standards Board to deliver the BPTC.

Why choose this course?

The BPTC aims to equip you with the skills and procedural knowledge necessary to follow your chosen career. Our BPTC was written by eight barristers who came to the Law School from practice. The course was designed in conjunction with judges, practising barristers and senior academics. Practitioners and judges assist with the delivery of the course as guest speakers and in practitioner workshops.

• Our core staff are practitioners.
• We provide a dedicated careers and recruitment service.
• Our pupillage rate is consistently above the national average.
• You will receive a free iPad (terms and conditions apply). Find out what your fee includes.
• We offer a range of options for varying types of practice.
• You will undertake assessments with a practical focus.
• Students are taught in small groups in high-quality teaching accommodation.
• You will receive individual feedback in all assessable skills.
• Prospective students attend a Pupillage Interview Training Day before the course starts, providing practical advice on pupillage applications.
• Scholarships are available for this course.
• After completion of this course you can "top-up" your credit points and gain an LLM Legal Practice at no extra cost.

For 2013 /2014 entry, the content and structure of the compulsory subjects will have been reviewed to allow innovative educational practices assisted by the provision of iPads.

Increased opportunities will be made available to students to assist them in marshalling (shadowing) a judge. The benefits of marshalling include the following:

• it allows students to see cases from a judicial perspective
• it complements mini-pupillages
• it strengthens a students CV / pupillage application.

Graduate LLB

Students who complete our BPTC via the GDL route at Nottingham Law School, or with another provider, have the opportunity to obtain a full LLB (known as a Graduate LLB*), reflecting the significant effort and achievement of successfully completing the GDL and the BPTC. This will enhance your CV and provide you with an academic as well as a professional award.

*Please note that those students who are exempt from some of the GDL subjects may not be eligible for a Graduate LLB. Open days

We hold an open day in autumn each year for students considering applying for a place on the Nottingham Law School BPTC. As well as providing an opportunity to talk to tutors and current students, visitors can:

• find out more about the course
• take a campus tour
• view our facilities
• attend a talk from a practitioner on pupillage and practice

Find out further details and how to book your place.

We also hold a Pupillage Interview Training Day for applicants to whom we make an offer. This event is held in spring and provides practical guidance and advice on applying for pupillage as well as practice interviews with members of the Bar.

If you have any queries about this course please contact us.

Contact details

Telephone: +44(0)115 848 4460
Email

The Course

After a short introductory period you will commence your study of the compulsory subjects. You will handle seven realistic briefs (four criminal and three civil) from commencement towards trial throughout the first two terms. Knowledge and skills areas are taught and learned through the progress of these case studies as students respond to Instructions to Counsel

Skills amount to around 60% of the BPTC and are normally taught in a variety of practical contexts to show how skills, once learned, can be transferred.

Two options are studied in the final term. A wide choice within mainstream areas of practice is available so that students obtain a broad foundation on which they can build once they have entered the profession.

What will I study?

Modules

Pervasives

• Case Preparation and Analysis
• Legal Research

Knowledge

• Civil Litigation, Evidence and Remedies
• Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing
• Professional Ethics

Skills

• Advocacy
• Conference Skills
• Drafting
• Resolution of Disputes Out of Court
• Opinion Writing

Options

Choose two from the following (subject to availability and demand):

• Advanced Civil Practice (Judicial Review)
• Advanced Criminal Practice
• Commercial Practice
• Employment Practice
• Family Practice
• Immigration
• Landlord and Tenant.

How will I be assessed?

There are 12 assessments. All students have a one-to-one feedback session with a tutor prior to each substantive skills assessment. Wherever possible, assessments are set in a practical context. We use actors to provide you with a realistic experience of an examination in chief and cross-examination and the questioning and advising of clients. You will also perform a chambers application before a District Judge who will interject with questions. The following are examples.

• Advocacy One: an interim application (performed before a District Judge who interjects with questions)
• Advocacy Two and Three: examination in chief and cross-examination of a witness played by an actor
• Conference Skills: questioning and advising a client who is played by an actor
• Family Practice: a conference to advise a client in respect of a family dispute (client played by an actor)
• Advanced Civil Practice: oral application for permission to apply for judicial review

All written skills assessments are based on briefs.

The two options are assessed in the final term.

Study routes

This is a full-time course running from September to June.