Scholarships and Exhibitions

Applications for all awards for 2008 are now closed.

Applications for the BVC awards for September 2009 entry will open in early September 2008
and the closing date is Friday 7 November 2008.

Please see below for the full details of these awards.

CPE/GDL and BVC Student Scholarships

BVC Year Scholarships & Exhibitions
CPE/GDL Year Scholarships & Exhibitions
Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Awards
Disability Grants
Prizes
Alternative Sources of Funding

Pupil/Barrister Scholarships

Pupillage Awards
Internships
Pegasus Scholarships

Further Information

What to apply for and when
Frequently Asked Questions
Application Criteria & General Guidelines
Contact Us

BVC Year Scholarships and Exhibitions

Most of the Inner Temple’s Scholarships and Exhibitions are intended to support students during their BVC year.

For the BVC year, 1 Peter Taylor Scholarship of £20,000, 1 Chapman Scholarship of £17,500, 1 Princess Royal Scholarship of £15,000 and 4 Princess Royal Scholarships of £12,500 each are available. Up to a further £707,500 will also be awarded in Major Scholarships and Exhibitions, the amounts of which will be decided taking into account the successful applicant’s resources and needs.

The Inn will also award the Yarborough-Anderson Scholarship (£1500), the Ashworth Scholarship (£1050), the Frank & Burris Gahan Scholarship (£820), the Profumo Scholarship (£750), the Wilfred Clothier Scholarship (£750), the Hughes Parry Scholarship (£700), the Horace Avory Scholarship (£600), the Peta Fordham Scholarship (£530), the Elfreda Edwards Scholarship (£450), the Jardine Scholarship (£450), the Philip Teichman Award (£350), the Michael Hodge Scholarship (£300), the Paul Methven Scholarship (£250), the Poland Prize (£150), and the Struben Bequest Prize (£100).

The number of awards that may be made each year is not fixed: but, in past years, Inner Temple has made more than 90 major awards for the BVC year.

Application procedure:
Candidates must apply on-line, using the form on the web-site. Applications must be received by the first Friday in November (7 November 2008) in the year before the start of the relevant BVC course. The financial statement section is not compulsory but if it is not filled in any award you win other than the named awards mentioned (Peter Taylor etc.) above would be at a minimum level as we would have to assume you had sufficient finances in place. We recommend that all applicants fill the financial statement in. Three references are required: two academic and one personal - please note that members of family cannot provide references.

The Inner Temple (like all the other Inns) will also choose one person from those intending to read for the BVC at City University to be the recipient of an award of £6,250 made by City University towards the BVC course fees.

In the last round of applications the Inner Temple interviewed every applicant. It is the Inn's intention, numbers permitting, to continue to offer interviews to all candidates that apply for a BVC award.

Closing date for applications (for those commencing BVC September 2009): 7 November 2008

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CPE/GDL Year Scholarships and Exhibitions

Students can apply for scholarships and exhibitions to support them during their CPE/GDL year. Applicants who intend to undertake the two-year postgraduate LLB course are also eligible. However, successful applicants will only be funded for one year of the course.

For the CPE/GDL year, 1 Princess Royal Scholarship of £10,000 and 4 Major Scholarships of £7,500 each are available. Up to a further £130,000 will also be awarded in Exhibitions, the amounts of which will be decided taking into account the successful applicant’s resources and needs.

The Inner Temple (like all the other Inns) will also choose one person from those intending to read for the CPE at City University to be the recipient of an award of £1,000 made by City University towards the CPE course fees.

Application procedure:
Candidates must apply using the online form on this website. Applications must be received by 30 April in the year of the relevant CPE/GDL course. The financial statement section is not compulsory but if it is not filled in any award you win other than the Princess Royal and Major Scholarships mentioned above would be at a minimum level as we would have to assume you had sufficient finances in place. Three references are required: two academic and one personal - please note that members of family cannot provide references.

The closing date for completed applications is the end of April each year.

The Guaranteed Funding Scheme:
The Inner Temple is the only Inn that will guarantee a CPE/GDL scholarship winner an award of at least equal value for their BVC.

Students who are successful in obtaining an award for their CPE/GDL year, who successfully complete the CPE/GDL course, and who thereafter obtain a place on a BVC course, will on application automatically receive an award of the same amount for their BVC year, without further interview.

CPE/GDL award holders therefore have the certainty that a minimum level of funds will be available to them from the Inn throughout their period of study for the Bar. Holders of CPE/GDL awards are, however, welcome to apply for a higher award for their BVC year. They will not, by doing so, jeopardise their right to the guaranteed amount.

Similarly, since more funds are available for awards for the BVC year, unsuccessful applicants for CPE/GDL awards are welcome to apply the following year for a BVC award. Many such applications have been successful in past years.

Permission will not usually be given to defer the taking up of a CPE/GDL award.

Closing date for applications: 30 April each year

Please contact the Scholarships Officer to check the dates of interviews if planning trips abroad etc. Awards are only given on the basis of interviews - however, we will undertake an interview by telephone if necessary so as not to disadvantage those who are unable to attend in person.

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Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Awards

50 awards of £160 each are offered annually to cover the Inn’s fees for admission and call.

Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom.

Application Procedure:
When applying for a BVC Scholarship you will automatically be put forward for a Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award. A separate application is not necessary.

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Disability Grants

Up to £10,000 is available annually to assist students or pupils of the Inn, who are affected by serious disability, who demonstrate financial need, and who can show that they have reasonable prospects of being called to the Bar. Grants are awarded at the discretion of the Scholarships Committee, with applicants being called for interview when convenient.
Click here to download the Disabilty Grant Application Form. When completed please email the form to Katherine Allen.

In addition to this sum, up to £5,000 is available annually to be distributed by way of supplement among successful applicants for Major Scholarships, or Exhibitions, who are affected by serious disability and demonstrate financial need. Applicants wishing to be considered for such assistance must state the nature of the case in the appropriate section of the financial statement incorporated in the general scholarships application form.

There is no closing date but as awards are made for those undertaking the BVC or Pupillage you must have an offer of a place on the BVC before your application can be considered. Please apply before your course commences.

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Prizes

The Inn awards a number of prizes of varying amounts for outstanding academic and other achievements, such as debating and mooting. The Inn may also award a Treasurer’s Prize, to cover the cost of a wig and gown, to students entering pupillage who have had to overcome exceptional hardship in order to qualify for the Bar.

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Alternative Sources of Funding

The Inns of Court and Bar Council Loan Scheme
For full details of this loan scheme please click here

High Street Banks
Try high street banks for career development loans/professional studies loans (those situated on or around Fleet Street in London are known to be more sympathetic to Bar students).

School/ Univeristy
See whether your former school or university has any charitable trusts to offer.

Publications
The Charities Digest , published by the Family Welfare Association
The Directory of Grant Making Trusts, published by the Charities Aid Foundation
The Grant Register, published by MacMillan

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Pupillage Awards

There are a small number of scholarships available for those with a minimally funded or unfunded pupillage, called Benefactors’ Scholarships. They are:

• Otto Rix Scholarship: £1300
• Leonard Woodley Scholarship: £1000 (awarded to someone whose parents or grandparents come from the new Commonwealth or Pakistan)
• Sweet and Maxwell Scholarship: £400
• Sunley Prize: £300 (awarded by the Knights of the Round Table to those who have debated and mooted for the Inn)
• Cecile Yahuda Scholarship: £325
• Basil Nield Scholarship: £250
• Neville Laski Scholarship: £150
• Geoffrey Veale Scholarship: £100
• Ede and Ravenscroft Prize: wig, gown and circuit case

Application Procedure:
Candidates should apply on-line, using the form on the web-site. Applications must be received by the end of May each year.Two references are required, one academic and one personal. The Committee will also usually expect to be provided with a letter from the Applicant’s pupil supervisor (or proposed pupil supervisor) or from the head of chambers or the chambers’ pupillage committee, confirming the funding arrangements for the pupillage. There is no interview.

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Internships and the Sir Joseph Priestly Scholarship

The Inn, with the help of a generous grant from a trust set up in memory of Sir Joseph Priestly, makes a small number of awards each year for the purposes of enabling students and newly qualified barristers to pursue projects that will widen their experience of the world outside the bar, and thereby enhance the skills that they can thereafter bring to their practice. Although any project meeting these criteria will be considered, preference will generally be given to projects with an international element and/or which involve an element of unpaid or low paid work for the community. In making these awards, the Committee will take into account (in addition to the usual criteria relating to merit, resources and need) the likely value to the profession and/or the public good of the candidate’s proposed use of the award. A total of £24,000 is available for such awards.

Any member of the Inn may apply for the Inn’s Internship Awards. The Sir Joseph Priestly Scholarships can only be awarded to barristers of less than 3 years’ call. Candidates who expect to be called imminently may nevertheless apply prior to call, but may not take up their award until they have been called. (So, for example, students expecting to be called to the Bar in July may apply in May for an award to be taken up for a project to be carried out during the summer vacation between call and starting pupillage.) Preference for all such awards will normally be given to those who have not previously received and taken up such an award. Internship Awards and Sir Joseph Priestly Scholarships are given only for identified projects. If the project is not carried out within 12 months of the award, the award will lapse, and any money received must be returned. Permission will not usually be given to defer the taking up of an Internship Award or a Sir Joseph Priestly Scholarship.

Application procedure:

Before filling in the application form, you are strongly advised to speak to the Scholarships Officer about whether your internship qualifies to be considered by the interview panel.

Candidates should apply using the online form on this website. Applications must be received by 30 May 2008. The financial statement part of the form does not need to be completed for these awards. Candidates must also submit (by email or by post to the Scholarships Officer) a covering letter giving full details of their intended project, how it meets the criteria for an award, the likely cost, any additional or alternative sources of funding, and the amount sought from the Inner Temple. Two references are required and they need to be forwarded to the scholarships officer by the closing date.

The closing date is the end of May each year.

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Contact Us

If you have any queries, please contact:
The Scholarships Officer
Education and Training Department
Treasury Building
Inner Temple
London EC4Y 7HL

Tel: 020 7797 8210
Fax: 020 7797 8212
Email: eoreilly@innertemple.org.uk

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