The criteria are:

- Academic performance - Evidenced by academic performance at university or academic potential shown through improvements at each academic stage.

- Advocacy Potential - Deploys precise and well-reasoned arguments, with clarity and fluency. Can demonstrate persuasiveness and conviction, can tailor style to the audience.

- Legal Comprehension and Reasoning Skills - The ability to analyse complex information; identify material issues; and ability to defend an argument.

- Professionalism and Interpersonal Skills – Ability to build productive working relationships, treat people with courtesy and respect regardless of their background or circumstances. Responds appropriately to those from diverse backgrounds and to the needs and sensitivities created by individual circumstances.

- Motivation – A very high level of commitment to a career at the Bar, together with a sound understanding of the profession and any current intended area(s) of practice. Being adaptable and flexible by being self-aware and self-directed.

In order to apply for a scholarship you will be required to submit an online application form, which will be linked below, when the application window is open.

The application form is broken down into 7 sections – contact information; educational details; legal and non-legal work experience; supporting information; further information, references and equality monitoring. The ‘supporting information’ section includes professional statement/ essay style questions, which are specific to the scholarship you are applying for and answers to these questions in particular will be used to assess your application.

Candidates submit one application form and are considered for all Inner Temple Bar Course Awards (listed above) at the same time.

Applicants are required to arrange for two references to be included in support of a scholarship application, which can be either academic or professional references. All referees should have known the applicant for at least 6 months, and references should be as detailed as possible. Please note that family members cannot provide references.

As part of the application form, applicants will be required to provide the names and contact details for their referees. An automatic email will then be sent to the referees, asking them to upload their reference directly to us. The deadline for references to be submitted is Friday 17 November 2023.

In line with the Inn’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, we invite applicants to submit contextual recruitment information, as part of the scholarship application process.

Inner Temple is continuing to use the Rare Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) which allows us to understand each applicant’s achievements in the context in which they have been gained. We seek to award scholarships to the best people, from every background, regardless of their personal circumstances, and the CRS will help us to do that. The CRS is only ever used to screen people in, not out. Under no circumstances are candidates put at any disadvantage for supplying this information.

Contextual recruitment information is collected via a separate form, in November/December after the submission deadline.

Applicants are asked to complete a financial means assessment form in the January after submitting their scholarship application. As part of this, applicants are asked to provide details of their financial situation for their upcoming Bar Course year. This includes income, outgoings, other financial support available (in the form of scholarships, grants, savings, and financial support from family/ guardians/ partners), and course fees.

The financial assessment data is only considered, after the scholarship interviews have been conducted and the scholars have been selected, based on merit as assessed against the Inn’s scholarships criteria.

The Inn's goal is to financially level the playing field amongst our scholars. The financial means assessment uses the collected financial data to calculate how much funding will be available to each scholar during their bar course year. The value of Major Scholarships and Exhibition Scholarships are determined based on this calculation. The minimum value of a scholarship is £3,000 and the maximum value of a scholarship is £20,000.

Inner Temple awards are intended to be awarded only to those who wish to practice at at the Bar of England and Wales, once qualified.

Applicants should apply for a scholarship in the autumn the year before they are due to start the course. For example, if you intend to start the Bar Course in September 2024, you should apply for a scholarship in autumn 2023.

Students may only apply for a scholarship from one of the four Inns of Court. Names of applicants are shared between Inns to ensure that students have not applied to more than one Inn.

The Inn offers candidates the choice of attending either an online, or in-person scholarship interview. Online interviews are held via Zoom and in-person interviews are held at Inner Temple.

Applicants are asked to indicate on their application form, which format of interview they would like to attend, and based on this, are invited to book an interview slot, in mid-November after submitting their application form.

In 2024, Bar Course scholarship interviews will take place on Saturday 2 March (online interviews) and Saturday 9 March (in-person interviews).

1. On arrival you will be registered and provided with an information sheet to read through. This sheet includes instructions for the case exercise, which forms part of the interview.

2. If attending in person, at the appropriate time you will be taken to a reading room and given a judgment to read through, which you will be asked questions on in the interview. The questions that you are likely to be asked about this judgment will be provided on the information sheet to help you prepare for this case exercise. If you are attending virtually, you will receive a copy of the legal judgment via email at the appropriate time.

3. When it is time for your interview, you will be greeted by a panel of four interviewers, who will take turns asking you questions based on the scholarships criteria. All panel members will have been sent your application form prior to the interviews.

4. The interview will last approximately 20 minutes.

Results are usually distributed, via email, within 3 weeks.

Each year, we hold pre-interview briefing meetings with candidates in late January/ early February, prior to the interviews. During these meetings, candidates are given further information about the interview format.

The Inn offers candidates the choice of attending either an online, or in-person scholarship interview. Online interviews are held via Zoom and in-person interviews are held at Inner Temple.

Applicants are asked to indicate on their application form, which format of interview they would like to attend, and based on this, are invited to book an interview slot, in mid-November after submitting their application form.