Our Bar Placement Scheme gives students in years 12 and 13, and first year undergraduates, a real-life insight into our profession. During the scheme you will:
- Spend up to 4 days shadowing a barrister in chambers and in court
- Take part in advocacy training from the Inns of Court College of Advocacy
This is an excellent opportunity to see what life is like as a barrister, and to work out whether a career at the Bar is something you'd like to pursue. During the scheme you'll gain experience and skills to enhance your CV.
To deliver the Bar Placement Scheme we work with Pathways to Law and the Social Mobility Foundation. We are grateful to the Council of the Inns of Court, the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, and the 4 Inns of Court for supporting the Bar Placement Scheme.
Applications for Bar Placement Scheme are open until 14 May, with the programme taking place w/c 13 July 2026.
Bar Placement Scheme student application form
Students applying for the Bar Placement Scheme should complete this form by Thursday 14 May 2026.
Hosting a student in your chambers
The Bar Placement Scheme offers a valuable insight into life at the Bar. Chambers wishing to take part should complete this form.
Blog competition winners
Each year, we invite students to submit a short blog describing their experiences during the scheme. We are consistently overwhelmed with the quality of responses.
More than just the courtroom: what I learnt behind the Bar
A winner of our Bar Placement Scheme blog competition, Meerab Basit, shares her experience and how she's come to realise that being a barrister is not about who speaks the loudest, but about the one who speaks with reason, conviction, and an understanding of the people they represent.
The Bar Placement Scheme 2025 reaffirmed my desire to take the leap in becoming a barrister
Bar Placement Scheme blog competition winner Lilly Bennett shares her experience and how it helped her answer the big question: "Why do you want to become a barrister?"
Bar Placement Scheme 2024: "The Bar - people for people" by Jasmine Sohl
Blog winner for the North, Jasmine Sohl, explores what she experienced during the Bar Placement Scheme and how it has inspired her to pursue a career at the Bar.
Bar Placement Scheme 2024: "The courtroom is a theatre of reality" by Katarina McCabe
Blog winner for the South, Katarina McCabe, shares her experience of the Bar Placement Scheme, exploring what a day in court is like, why she applied and what she learned from the experience.
Bar Placement Scheme 2023: "unpredictable, fast-paced, and thrilling" by Amina Yaasiin Ahmed
Amina Yaasiin Ahmed shares her experience on the Bar Placement Scheme, shadowing barristers and watching a trial in the High Court - and what she's learned from her week immersed in the Bar.
Bar Placement Scheme 2023: "Every preconception I had was incorrect" by Harry Folland
Read Harry Folland's reflections on his week with the Bar Placement Scheme, and how it challenged his ideas about what life at the Bar is really like.
Blog: Bar Placement Scheme 2022 made me sure this career is for me
Anaya Ricketts says she has picked up 'invaluable knowledge and experience'
Blog: Bar Placement Scheme 2022 an 'eye-opening experience that gave me new skills'
Eshal Waseem reflects on her time with Brick Court Chambers in London
Read placement stories by previous participants
- Read an article by a previous participant who completed a placement in London
- One student's account of their placement in Manchester