Law Soc Gazette
Bar pupils who attended Oxbridge are 15 times more likely than others to obtain financial awards of £60,000 or more, according to the Bar Council’s latest pupil survey which asked about university education for the first time.
The fifth survey, published today, also reveals that 8% of pupils working in publicly funded areas, such as crime and family, received awards above £60,000 compared with 46% of pupils working in other areas.
Chambers and employers set their own awards when they advertise pupillages, just as law firms do with training contracts. Privately funded chambers, such as chancery and commercial, typically set higher awards.
The minimum award is set by the Bar Standards Board and guided by the Living Wage Foundation. The minimum pupillage award for 2026 is £25,863 for 12-month pupillages in London and £23,504 for pupillages outside London.
The median pupil award for this year’s respondents fell in the £40,000-£49,000 bracket. Last year, it fell in the £30,000-£39,000 bracket.
The survey was sent to 472 pupils and attracted 143 responses. Three in 10 respondents attended Oxbridge, 35% attended a Russell Group university, 11% went to other ‘research-intensive’ universities and 23% went to another institution. Four respondents attended university overseas.
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