The Statistics
Becoming a self-employed barrister is a notoriously competitive process, with many able candidates at every stage.
We have included, below, all of the most up-to-date information available on the number of people who do the Bar Professional Training Cource (BPTC, formerly the BVC), the number who do pupillage, and the number who get tenancy.
Before you embark on training as a barrister, you should be clear about the challenges and the risks. But if you are committed to the profession, and if you have the ability to succeed, you should not be put off by the statistics alone.
You will see from the information given below that the most challenging step for most trainee barristers is securing pupillage. Around 1,500 people successfully complete the BPTC each year, whereas fewer than 600 pupillages are offered each year. You should remember, when considering this, that these figures slightly exaggerate the true picture since some of the BVC students are international students who do not wish to gain pupillage in this country.
Click here for The Bar Barometer, a pilot statistical report identifying trends in the profile of the Bar and published in March 2011.
Data on the make up of the Bar can be found here
Bar Standards Board BVC & Pupillage Monitoring Data
Data on Bar students and pupils for 2009-10 is available here
BVC
| BVC Year | 03/04 | 04/05 | 05/06 |
06/07 |
07/08 | 08/09 | 09/10 |
| Applicants | 2570 | 2883 | 2917 | 2870 | 2864 | 2540 | 2657 |
| Enrolments | 1449 | 1665 | 1745 | 1932 | 1837 | 1749 | 1793 |
| Successful | 1251 | 1392 | 1480 | 1560 | 1720 | 1330 | 1432** |
* The figures here represent those students who successfully completed the BVC in the year in which they enrolled. This figure does not take into account those students who deferred their place or who were referred and took resits after the September examination board.
** 1432 is a provisional figure
Numbers in Pupillage
Total number of barristers who commenced their 1st six months’ pupillage between:
| Date of pupillage | Number |
| 1 October 2000 & 30 September 2001 | 695 |
| 1 October 2001 & 30 September 2002 | 812* |
| 1 October 2002 & 30 September 2003 | 586 |
| 1 October 2003 & 30 September 2004 | 518 |
| 1 October 2004 & 30 September 2005 | 556 |
| 1 October 2005 & 30 September 2006 | 515 |
| 1 October 2006 & 30 September 2007 | 527 |
| 1 October 2007 & 30 September 2008 | 562 |
| 1 October 2008 & 30 September 2009 | 464 |
| 1 October 2009 & 30 September 2010 | 460 |
*NB due to 30th September 2002 falling on a Monday, 112 pupillages which would normally have been registered in the 2002/3 year were registered in the 2001/2 year, causing the higher than usual figure for that year and the lower than usual figure for 2002/3.
Total number of barristers who commenced 2nd six month pupillage between:
| Date of pupillage | Number |
| 1 October 2000 & 30 September 2001 | 700 |
| 1 October 2001 & 30 September 2002 | 724 |
| 1 October 2002 & 30 September 2003 | 702 |
| 1 October 2003 & 30 September 2004 | 557 |
| 1 October 2004 & 30 September 2005 | 598 |
| 1 October 2005 & 30 September 2006 | 567 |
| 1 October 2006 & 30 September 2007 | 563 |
| 1 October 2007 & 30 September 2008 | 555 |
| 1 October 2008 & 30 September 2009 | 518 |
| 1 October 2009 & 30 September 2010 | 495 |
Tenancy
Total number of barristers who entered tenancy for the first time between:
| Date of Tenancy | Number |
| 1st October 1998 & 30th September 1999 | 541 |
| 1st October 1999 & 30th September 2000 | 511 |
| 1st October 2000 & 30th September 2001 | 535 |
| 1st October 2001 & 30th September 2002 | 541 |
| 1st October 2002 & 30th September 2003 | 698 |
| 1st October 2003 & 30th September 2004 | 601 |
| 1st October 2004 & 30th September 2005 | 544 |
| 1st October 2005 & 30 September 2006 | 531 |
| 1 October 2006 & 30 September 2007 | 499 |
| 1 October 2007 & 30 September 2008 | 494 |
| 1 October 2008 & 30 September 2009 | 497 |
| 1 October 2009 & 30 September 2010 | 467 |
Total number of barristers who started employed practice for the first time between:
| Date of Employment | Number |
| 1 October 2003 & 30 September 2004 | 182 |
| 1 October 2004 & 30 September 2005 | 156 |
| 1 October 2005 & 30 September 2006 | 191 |
| 1 October 2006 & 30 September 2007 | 228 |
| 1 October 2007 & 30 September 2008 | 239 |
| 1 October 2008 & 30 September 2009 | 213 |
| 1 October 2009 & 30 September 2010 | 171 |
