Becoming a Barrister

Home › Becoming a Barrister › Opportunities for Prospective Barristers › PASS

Pegasus Access and Support Scheme (PASS)

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

Applications for 2025/26 were open from 14th April to 29th June. Applications are now closed and we cannot accept late applications.

PASS was established in 2012 by the Inner Temple and 62 different partner chambers across a range of practice areas.

Our aim is to improve access to the profession and to support high achieving aspiring barristers from under-represented backgrounds by providing experiences and developing skills that will support a career at the Bar.

For participants who have been unable to secure many mini-pupillages at the point of application the PASS programme team will arrange a placement and cover reasonable associated travel costs (and accommodation costs, where needed). *Note that participants who have already secured two mini-pupillages at the point of application will not be eligible for a placement.

In addition, PASS supports participants by providing a focused professional and advocacy skills development programme via a mix of in-person and online delivery. We will also cover reasonable costs for PASS participants to attend these in-person sessions.

An additional scholarship is available through our partnership with the Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR), for which candidates can indicate an interest on their PASS application.

OUTCOMES FOR PARTICIPANTS

Our desired outcomes for PASS participants are as follows:

  • Developing professional and advocacy skills beneficial to pursuing a career at the Bar
  • Accessing a mini-pupillage in chambers without financial obstacles
  • Increased understanding the routes to the Bar, including an awareness of how to access funding and support.

CANDIDATE 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 (October 2025 - June 2026) 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 (eg. 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-July). Those studying abroad, therefore, are not eligible.

We welcome applications from mature applicants and applicants with disabilities. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

Participation in one of the below partner programmes is also considered as part of the application:

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Once we have determined that a candidate is eligible for the scheme, we assess applications against four key strength areas which we ask the candidate to demonstrate in their written application and in a short recorded video interview. These strength areas are:

  • Motivation to pursue a career at the Bar and an understanding of how PASS can support you to do this
  • Teamwork
  • Effective time prioritisation
  • Written and verbal communication skills.

To be eligible for the COMBAR scholarship, candidates must also demonstrate an interest in the needs of commercial business via an additional short, recorded video interview.

Applications for 2025/26 were open from 14th April to 29th June. Applications are now closed and we cannot accept late applications.