Courses
Funding the BVC
or as it is now called the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)
Becoming a barrister these days is an expensive proposition. The cost of doing a Bar Vocational Course (BVC) or as it is now known the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) is very high, and conventional funding methods via academic scholarships or local education authority funding is not available for the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) or as it is now known the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) at all.
Some amount of funding can be arranged with a scholarship from your Inn and some chambers allow pupils to draw down some portion of the pupillage award during the course year, but otherwise it is up to you to make the necessary arrangements for finance.
Sources of Funding
For most, the only way to finance the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) or as it is now known the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) is through your own pocket. This can be by means of savings, income earned from part-time jobs, funds from parents and relatives or bank loans. Two types of bank loan are available for the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) or as it is now known the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) – career development loans and professional studies/professional trainee loans.
The professional studies loan has a disbursal limit of £25,000 and is available from banks such as HSBC, RBS, Barclays, etc. Repayments are postponed until after the course is completed. These are full-interest loans with a repayment term of up to ten years.
The career development loans are sponsored by the government, though funds are disbursed by the bank. The upper limit on funding is £8,000 and interest rates are steep. Repayment differs from the professional studies loans though, in that the repayment terms are much shorter.
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"Two types of bank loan are available...career development loans and professional studies/professional trainee loans..."
Other than bank loans and personal funding, some assistance is available through Inn scholarships and pupillage award advances. Most chambers do not fund the BVC fees and living costs as law firms do for the LPC and GDL courses. Only a few chambers may allow an early advance on the annual pupillage award, up to a limit of £10,000 - £15,000, but these are decidedly in the minority. Additionally, the advance in these chambers is at the discretion of the management.
Inn scholarships are available from £100 - £20,000 depending on factors such as academic excellence, significant achievements in extracurricular activities related to the Bar such as public-speaking or mooting, and personality and demeanour at the scholarship interview.
Other minor resources for financial assistance can come by way of essay prizes; these have the dual benefits of supplementing your finance as well as creating a talking point on your CV. But these are usually in the range of £1,000 to £3,000; even the higher amount is insufficient to make a dent in the BVC fees.-
When to apply
The timelines for bank loan applications will vary from bank to bank, depending on the processing time, completion of loan documentation and verifications to be carried out.
Details will be available at the individual banks you apply to , but the basic aim should be to have your funding arranged and confirmed before it is time to apply for the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) or as it is now known the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). Applications for the Inn scholarships should be made in the October preceding the commencement of the pupillage year or as per guidelines issued by the respective Inns.
The same procedure will also be applicable for advances on pupillage awards; all the required information and contact details should be available on the chambers’ websites. You can also check the Bar Council website for alternat ive resources for financial assistance.
01-10-2009
