Bar Course
2 Years Part-Time | September Start

Your Bar training at Northumbria will be immersive, practice-focused and extremely supportive. By studying in a way that simulates professional practice, you will prepare yourself for a seamless transition from classroom to courtroom.

We will deliver the knowledge modules over both semesters, through a combination of lectures, seminars, podcasts and tutorials. We believe that face-to-face teaching is essential to allow you to discuss and debate the material with our academics, and learn from their extensive experience of the law.

Integrated with the knowledge modules, you will develop your skills through three practice streams focusing on the 3 foundational areas of practice in pupillage and the junior Bar – Family, Civil and Criminal Practice. You will practice Advocacy, Conferencing, Drafting and Opinion Writing in context of actual practice with the ability to access briefs entirely electronically – as in many areas of modern practice.

You will have opportunities to undertake Advocacy training involving non-civilian witnesses and expert witnesses, for example Crime Scene Investigators, Police Officers and Social Workers (please note, the range of witnesses may change year on year).

In addition, you will have access to specialist exam practice technique sessions to help you prepare for the centralised assessments, extra advocacy masterclasses, mooting competitions, a Qualifying Dinner, and a supplementary qualification in mediation.

Underpinning all of this is a strong emphasis on Professional Ethics, which will equip you with the knowledge required for the Professional Ethics assessment on the Bar Course and provide the foundation for the further assessment you will undertake during pupillage.

At Northumbria you can expect exceptionally high standards of teaching from a practice-oriented teaching team, many of whom remain in practice at the Bar or sit as Judges.

We are enthusiastically supported by the broader Bar and Judiciary, who often deliver in-course and extra-curricular teaching as part of the Practitioner Programme – with a strong emphasis on the development of your advocacy skills. The quality of our teaching has also been recognised through a variety of awards and nominations. These include Law Teacher of the Year Award, the Attorney General’s Pro Bono Award and the Northern Law Awards.

The expertise of staff extends beyond professional practice. As academics, the tutors at Northumbria Law School have expertise in a range of areas, with some members recognised as national or international leaders in their field. We host the Northumbria Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice Studies, and our research groups include Gender, Sexuality and Law; the Northumbria Information Rights Research Group; and the International Law Research Interest Group.

“I think it’s very helpful to have someone teaching you how to do advocacy, for example, when they’ve spent the three days prior to your class in a trial situation.”

David McCormick, Northumbria alumni and Barrister

Northumbria Law School provides first-class teaching in a world-class environment. You will be based in our award-winning City Campus East building, which houses our mock courtroom and Student Law Office as well as an array of lecture theatres, classrooms and a dedicated postgraduate study area.

It is also home to our specialist Law Practice Library, which contains practitioner materials as well as a wide variety of journals, databases, and law reports. The range and depth of resources reflects our position as the largest law school in the North East region.

The 24/7 University Library achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK, and holds Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence.

Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is an integral part of this course. You receive extensive support through our e-learning platform, Blackboard, where you can access a wide range of resources. These include online discussion forums, collaborative online learning, self-test materials and assessment tasks. We use Panopto software to record teaching, feedback and practical exercises in Conferencing and Advocacy. This is a valuable aid in the process of reflection, critical thinking and improvement.

You will experience research-rich learning in both the knowledge and skills elements of Bar training, through enquiry-based tasks, case analysis and engagement with legal research.

The pervasive research culture of Northumbria Law School will facilitate your development of excellent research skills and a strong conceptual understanding of specialist areas of law.

The Law School’s research is focused on three areas: Law and Society; Legal Education and Professional Skills; and the Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice Studies. Your tutors will discuss their own and wider research as it relates to the course, enhancing your learning experience and encouraging critical thinking.

On successful completion of the Bar Course you will be fully prepared for the demands of practice, and will be eligible for call to the Bar of England and Wales (subject to meeting the qualifying requirements of your Inn of Court).

At Northumbria, we aim to ensure that you are prepared in every way for pupillage selection and life as a barrister. The course will build on your existing legal knowledge and equip you with the skills, knowledge and values necessary for practice as an effective and successful legal professional.

Northumbria Law School is internationally-recognised as delivering excellence in training for the Bar, and we are an integral part of the local legal community. Local firms and practitioners often sponsor prizes celebrating student success on the programme – evidence of the high esteem in which our graduates are held and a remarkable opportunity for you to gain recognition. 

Previous graduates have gone on to positions as barristers in Newcastle and all over England and Wales, as well as in Commonwealth jurisdictions across the globe.