Trials move with BPP
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) says it is “exploring the possibility” of allowing additional resits for students who commenced bar training from September 2020 onwards.
Under current rules, vocational bar training courses allow students a maximum of five years to complete the course and be called to the bar. Within this time limit, the maximum number of resits varies between education providers and is not currently regulated by the Bar Standards Board.
Now the BSB has announced that it is considering removing limits on the number of resits, saying, “as far as the BSB is concerned, there is no limit to the number of times those elements can be retaken within 5 years”.
The regulator says it will initially trial the change in a December pilot specifically for students at BPP Law School.
This would be on a “non-award basis”, which means that although students may be called to the bar if they successfully complete all the elements of vocational bar training prescribed by the regulator, they will not receive any academic award such as a Postgraduate Diploma or LLM either from their original training provider or from BPP (if BPP is not their original provider).
If the pilot is deemed successful the opportunity will be opened up to students from other educational providers.
