Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)

Becoming a barrister

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) (formerly the Bar Vocational Course or BVC) is the vocational training course for those intending to practise as barristers. At BPP, we view the BPTC as more than just a qualification. It is the foundation for your future career as a successful barrister. Our programme is rigorous and designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare you for pupillage and practice as a barrister.

Our BPTC is one of nine to be approved worldwide by the Bar Standards Board. Those who successfully complete the programme (and their Inn's qualifying sessions) will be eligible to be Called to the Bar of England and Wales.

The most consistently impressive aspect of the BVC at BPP is the high level of commitment towards individual students by the excellent teaching staff.

Oliver Renton
Full-time BVC (now the BPTC), Leeds
Pupil, Charter Chambers

 

Preparing you for practice

BPP’s BPTC is a challenging programme, providing you with the essential skills you need to practise as a barrister:

  • high-quality teaching from experienced tutors and practitioners many of whom continue to practise at the Bar
  • exercises based on the real life case experiences of your tutors
  • high level of face-to-face tuition, in groups as small as six students for advocacy
  • regular practice of advocacy (30% more than required by the Bar Standards Board) and conference in realistic mock court rooms and resolution of disputes out of court skills, recorded to enable you to review and improve your performance
  • individual oral and written feedback from tutors
  • practising barristers and professional actors participate in mock and final assessments in advocacy and conference to make assessments as true to life as possible
  • comprehensive range of books and materials included in the programme fees, so you can build your own practitioner library as soon as you start your training
  • annual mooting events judged by practitioners or members of the judiciary
  • Introduction to Pupillage lectures
  • court visits and practitioner evenings
  • opportunity to upgrade to an LLM in Professional Legal Practice

You can study the BPTC full-time or part-time in our Law Schools in Leeds and London (Holborn) . For information on each individual study option please refer to the Essential Programme Guide.