The Inner Temple: Education & Training

Scholarships Criteria and General Guidelines

Criteria for Inner Temple Awards
Joining the Inner Temple
Application Forms
Closing Dates
References
Interviews
Feedback
Intention to Practise
Financial Means
Canvassing
Deferment of Awards

Criteria for Inner Temple Awards

Scholarships are all awarded on merit. The criteria are:

Intellectual qualities (ability to analyse complex information and identify essentials, judgement, perceptiveness, good memory - academic achievement generally being good evidence on all counts)
Motivation (very high level of drive and determination, commitment to appropriate aspects of work at the Bar)
Relationships (ability to get on with a wide range of people, diplomacy, ability to sustain relationships)
Character (calmness under fire, ability to work hard for long hours and against deadlines, sound personal values and integrity)
Impact (articulacy, persuasiveness, confidence, ability to suit conduct to the occasion)

Criteria for Exhibitions (merit and need are both taken into consideration). The criteria of merit are the same as for scholarships. The criteria of need are:

Capital/debt (existing and prospective)
Income (existing and prospective, from all sources - including any other likely award or provision, e.g. from a public body, prospective pupillage chambers, charity or parents)
Personal expenditure (existing and prospective, including fees)
Exceptional considerations (e.g. dependants, or special liabilities)

Criteria for Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Scholarship:

They are awarded on the basis of academic and general merit, with need taken into account in appropriate cases.

Joining the Inn

Candidates need not join the Inn before making an application but if they are offered an award, they are required to join before receiving any money from the Inn - and in any case, must join the Inn before they start their BVC course (forms should be submitted to the Treasury Office by 31 May). Please note that if you have a criminal conviction or CCJ (County Court Judgement), the application process may take several months so make sure you apply in good time.

Application Forms

With the exception of the Pegasus, Temple Gift and Paris Bar scholarship schemes and the disability awards, all applications are made on a single form which can be found on-line. This incorporates an application form; financial statement; ethnic monitoring form; and guidelines for referees. There is no limit on the number of awards which may be applied for or received, bearing in mind that the aim of the Scholarships Committee is to help as many deserving candidates as possible within the confines of the fund. A separate form on-line is available for disability awards. Candidates for internship/Sir Joseph Priestly awards are required to also submit a covering letter to the Chairman of the Scholarships Committee, setting out their intended project and anticipated expenses. Click here for the online forms.

Closing Dates

Prospective applicants must note them carefully: they are observed strictly.

References

Applicants must arrange that those providing references do so using the guidelines supplied with the application form and send them directly to the Scholarships Officer before the relevant closing date. Undergraduates must arrange for a tutor or director of studies to provide one of the references. Other applicants' academic references may be from the head of a former school or someone of similar standing. All references should be reasonably up-to-date at the time the application is made. In the case of mature applicants, references from an employer are acceptable, bearing in mind that all references should be as detailed as possible. Please note that members of family cannot provide references. The same references may be used for admission to the Inn, providing the correct wording on the accompanying letter is followed.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that references reach the Education and Training Department by the relevant closing date: applications presented without appropriate references may be disadvantaged.

Applicants must notify the Scholarships Officer in writing of any relevant changes in circumstances – such as degree results – as soon as possible.

Interviews

Panels comprising members of the Scholarships Committee (if necessary, assisted by other senior members of the Inn appointed for the purpose) will see applicants who are called for interview at the Inn. Isolated interviews of individuals will not be undertaken. Therefore it is essential for applicants to ascertain the possible dates for such interviews when lodging their applications and to ensure that they will be available at such dates if called upon. Interviews held on Saturdays take place normally between 9.00am and 6.00pm. Other interviews take place on weekday evenings, fixed according to the availability of the interviewing panels.

If an interviewee cannot, for good reason, come to the Inn for interview (for example, because they are studying of working overseas), the Committee may exceptionally permit a telephone interview. Requests for telephone interviews must be made through the Scholarships Officer. Candidates considering requesting a telephone interview are cautioned that this procedure may make it more difficult for them to demonstrate to the interviewing panel the qualities required for an award, and so may place them at a disadvantage compared with candidates attending in person for interview.

Feedback

It is not possible to give feedback to any candidates either before or after interview. All candidates are measured against other applicants rather than against an absolute benchmark. Out of 266 BVC applicants for 2007 only 106 were awarded scholarships or exhibitions – inevitably there are those who are disappointed. The panel’s decision is final. To make a good application, pay close attention to the criteria used by the interviewing panels. The Scholarships Officer is happy to advise candidates on any aspect of procedure/application you are not sure about. Also see the criteria (above).

Intention to Practise: Undertaking

Inner Temple awards are intended to be awarded only to those who genuinely intend to make a career at the Bar of England and Wales. All candidates – particularly those applying for CPE awards – will therefore be expected to demonstrate a knowledge of what practise at the Bar entails (gained, for example, from mini-pupillages, chambers visits and/or attendance at court), and a clear commitment to making the Bar their career.

All award winners will be asked, as a condition of receiving their award, to give an undertaking to repay the whole (or such part as the Scholarships Committee may in its discretion determine) of the money that they have received, if they do not diligently attempt (i) if not already qualified) to do all such things as will enable them to become qualified to practise at the Bar of England and Wales; and thereafter (ii) to practise at that Bar for a continuous period (save for periods attributable to pregnancy, ill health or other factors outside their control) of at least 3 years.

If an award winner’s intentions with regard to practice at the Bar alters at any time before the completion of payments by the Inn, notice must be given to the Scholarships Committee, via the Scholarships Officer forthwith and all payments will cease.

Financial Means

Applicants must give all the information asked for in the financial statement incorporated in the application form fully and clearly. Applicants must also state clearly if they have applied to any other organisation for funding. The Scholarships Committee may reject an application if it forms the view that the information relating to means is incomplete or is otherwise unsatisfactory.

In considering these matters, the Committee looks to the future as well as the present, and takes into consideration not only the personal means of the applicants but also assistance currently or prospectively available from any other source.

In relation to needs, all Bar students are, to some extent, needy. What the Committee will look for re those factors that make any particular candidate either more or less needy than the average.

Please note that the merit criteria employed for scholarships will also be applied to exhibition applicants firstly and then their financial circumstances will be looked at. Neediness on its own is not a reason for receiving an award. The panel must also be convinced that the candidate has a good chance of becoming a barrister.

Canvassing

Any applicant who canvasses directly or indirectly will be disqualified.

Deferment of Awards

An applicant awarded a Scholarship may apply for the award to be deferred, giving good reasons (such as a late opportunity to take a worthwhile academic course). If satisfied as to those reasons, the Scholarships Committee may grant such deferment as it considers appropriate. Each year, any funds deferred by award winners are re-distributed between Scholarship and Exhibition winners as the Chairman of the Scholarships Committee sees fit.

The Scholarships Committee will not usually give consent to defer CPE, Internship or Sir Joseph Priestly awards. Candidates who have been obliged to decline or return such an award may, however, re-apply for a similar award at the appropriate time, and that application will be considered on its merits.