Important changes in the training of barristers

This is an important year in the training of those who wish to become barristers. In the autumn a number of colleges , some outside London, join the Inns of Court School of Law in teaching the Bar Vocational Course. This course , introduced in 1989, was previously only available at the Inns of Court School of Law, located in and around Gray's Inn in London. Passing the Bar Vocational Course is necessary before a student can be "Called to the Bar" by the Inns of Court which he or she has joined and can enter pupillage , a period od apprenticeship, usually in a barrister's chambers, under the supervision of an experienced barrister.