Bar Course providers compared
How do the providers of the Bar Course in England and Wales compare?
A quick note: the BPTC has now been replaced across England and Wales, with each law school now providing their own Bar Training Course. We list the name of each next to the law school. Names (and cost) aside, little else will change in terms of what you'll be studying on the Bar course.
Law School |
Places |
(Fees 2020/21) |
Contact time |
Option Subjects |
Pro bono |
A distinguishing feature |
BPP Law School (Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester) - BTC |
FT: 672 (total) |
£13,000-£14,500 |
Part One: 10hrs/wk, Part Two: 8hrs/wk |
• Advanced Criminal LitigationAsylum, Detention • Deportation & Extradition • Commercial Dispute • Resolution • Company Law • Employment Law • Family Law • Intellectual Property Law • International Criminal Practice • International Trade • Judicial Review • Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence • Professional Discipline • Property and Chancery |
Pro bono centre projects: ELPIS, HRU, LTS, LEASE case summaries, Personal support unit, Research project, Shadowing, Streetlaw, Streetlaw (mock trials) and tribunal services. |
Fee includes all learning materials, including hard copies of Civil Procedure Rules (the White Book) and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice, worth over £1,100. |
BPP Law School (London) – BTC |
FT: 672 (total) |
£14,000 - £16,000 |
Varies, typically 7.5 - 8.5 hours face to face. |
• Advanced Criminal LitigationAsylum, Detention • Deportation & Extradition • Commercial Dispute • Resolution • Company Law • Employment Law • Family Law • Intellectual Property Law • International Criminal Practice • International Trade • Judicial Review • Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence • Professional Discipline • Property and Chancery |
Pro bono centre projects: ELPIS, HRU, LTS, LEASE case summaries, Personal support unit, Research project, Shadowing, Streetlaw, Streetlaw (mock trials) and tribunal services. |
Each year £1,000,000+ is available through scholarships & bursaries to support students through their studies. |
Bristol Law School at UWE – BTC |
FT: 96 |
FT: £15,500 |
FT: 14 hrs/wk dedicated to |
•Clinical Negligence •Criminal Law •Commercial Law •Employment •Family Law •International Trade •Landlord and Tenant •Refugee and Asylum Law |
Bristol Law Court Clinic provides assistance at Bristol Civil Justice centre. |
High levels of student satisfaction (95% would recommend UWE Bristol as their BPTC provider of choice as at December 2015). |
Cardiff Law School – BTC (PgDip) |
FT: 84 |
FT & PT UK/EU: £17,450 FT & PT International: £19,450 |
See website. |
•Family •Employment •Company •Employer's Liability and Clinical Negligence •Commercial Litigation •Criminal Practice |
Pro bono schemes: Law in Healthcare, Law in Justice, Law in Sport, Law in Court, Law in Mental Health. |
Opportunity to marshall with a Judge and/or undertake a mini-pupillage & a high level of individual feedback and support on performance in oral and written skills. |
City Law School – BVC |
FT: 380 |
FT: £18,500 |
FT: 12-14hrs/wk |
•Advanced Criminal Litigation •Commercial Law •Company Law •Domestic Violence •Employment Law •Family Law •Fraud & Economic Crime •Free Representation Unit: Employment Law •Landlord & Tenant •Professional Negligence •Free Representation Unit: Social Security |
Pro Bono opportunities, including: |
LLM gives students chance to focus on a specific area of professional legal practice related to the BPTC and to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of that area. |
Manchester Metropolitan University – BTC |
FT: 108 |
£12,000 |
FT: 10hrs/wk on 4 days |
•Advanced Civil Litigation •Advanced Criminal Litigation •Business Law and Corporate Finance •Employment Law •Family Law •Personal Injury Litigation |
Pro bono network activities include: working a legal advice line, assisting start-up businesses in our Business Law Café, supporting caseworkers for the homeless, representing clients at tribunals etc. |
Specialist facilities for BPTC students – including chambers rooms, a legal library and mock court room. |
Northumbria University School of Law – Bar Course Postgraduate Diploma |
FT: 100 |
£12,300 |
FT: 14hrs/wk on 4 days |
•Chancery •Criminal Practice •Family Practice •Employment Practice •Student Law Office •Commercial Practice •Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Litigation •Personal Support Unit |
The Student Law Office is a wide-ranging legal advice centre. |
LLM in Advanced Legal Practice can be awarded after further study. |
Nottingham Trent University – BTC |
FT: 120 |
See website. |
Taught in groups of approximately 12 students, except for Advocacy and Conference where you will be taught in groups of six students. |
• Civil practice (judicial review) • Criminal practice |
Via the pro bono centre: providing advice to employment clinic clients, interviewing clients and preparing witness statements for the National Centre for Domestic Violence, supporting litigants in person at the Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Hearing. |
Offers an award-winning pro bono programme, including a Legal Advice Centre for the local community. |
University of Law (Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham) – BPC |
FT: 132 |
£12,100-£13,400 |
For part one, students study for 10 hours per week, split across 3 or 4 days. 30 hours of independent learning per week is also required. For part two, students will study for 8 hours per week, with 32 hours of independent learning per week also required. |
• Advanced criminal litigation • Alternative dispute resolution: mediation • Chancery • International commercial practice • Employment tribunal practice • Family practice • Immigration practice and asylum • Judicial review • Personal injury and clinical negligence |
Attendance is required to prepare cases in small groups, consult with supervising |
Over £2 million available in scholarship fund. |
University of Law (London) – BPC |
FT: 136 |
BPC: £13,500, LLM: £16,500 |
For part one, students study for 10 hours per week, split across 3 or 4 days. 30 hours of independent learning per week is also required. For part two, students will study for 8 hours per week, with 32 hours of independent learning per week also required. |
• Advanced criminal litigation • Alternative dispute resolution: mediation • Chancery • International commercial practice • Employment tribunal practice • Family practice • Immigration practice and asylum • Judicial review • Personal injury and clinical negligence |
Attendance is required to prepare cases in small groups, consult with supervising |
Over £2 million available in scholarship fund. |
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