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What is PASS?

PASS is an outreach programme designed to support aspiring barristers who are not due to start the Bar course until the following academic year at the earliest.

The programme involves a mini-pupillage placement and skills development workshops, all designed to support you in your pursuit of a career at the Bar. Expect lots of facetime with practising barristers and judges as they give you advice and guidance.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for PASS you must:

  • Have attended state school for the majority of your secondary education and the majority of your sixth form education (ages 11-18)
    AND
  • Be on course for (or have achieved) at least a 2:1 in your undergraduate degree or, where a classification lower than a 2:1 was achieved, demonstrated academic ability at a higher level of study or in the workplace.

You cannot be on the Bar Course at any point during PASS or have already completed the Bar Course.

You must also meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • First generation of your family to access higher education
  • Recipient of Free School Meals at any point
  • In the care of the Local Authority at any point in your schooling. This is often referred to as being ‘care experienced’.
  • Estranged
  • When you were aged 14, the main household earner worked in one of the following professions:
    – technical and craft occupations (e.g. motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver)
    – routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations (e.g. postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, HGV driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter or waitress, bar staff)
    OR
    – were long-term unemployed
    OR
    – you are currently in receipt of income or housing benefits (eg. job seeker’s allowance, PIP. Student finance is not included in this)

You must also be residing in the UK for the duration of the programme (October-June). Those studying abroad, therefore, are not eligible.