Interview for Major Scholarships: Notes for Candidates

  1. The purpose of these notes is to give you some idea of what to expect when you come to the MiddleTemple for your interview.
  1. All applicants who have secured a place on the BPTC will be interviewed. The only way we can accommodate this is by limiting the time for each interview to 15 minutes.
  1. You will have been asked to bring with you written confirmation of your place on a BPTC and four passport-sized photographs. The purpose of the latter is to remind members of the panel of the candidates whom they have seen: by the end of three days' interviews, they will have met over sixty candidates.
  1. On arrival at the Ashley Building, please make yourself known to the porter. He will direct you to the waiting area close to the room in which your interview will take place. Claim forms for travel expenses will be available in the waiting area. Please note that the Inn will be able to make a contribution of up to £60 towards travel expenses. You are only eligible for this if you are travelling from outside of the M25 and we will only cover the cost of your transport into London, i.e. no tube or taxi within London.
  1. You will be collected from the waiting area by the clerk of your panel to whom you should show the letter from the BPTC provider and give your photographs. The clerk will then take you into the interviewing room and announce you to the panel.
  1. The panel will typically consist of three senior members of the Inn; usually barristers, though some panels may also include a judge. Do not shake hands with them: they will sit on the other side of a wide table or in other ways just slightly beyond comfortable reach, and it makes everyone feel awkward if the interview gets started by everyone scrambling around!
  1. The interview itself will be geared towards helping the panel to see you at your best and assess your potential for the Bar according to the published criteria; it is not intended to be an examination.
  1. That said, you will of course be expected to be aware of current legal issues or cases and have a well-founded view on them. If you mentioned mini-pupillages, work experience, court visits, academic research, or anything along those lines in your application, be prepared to be asked about those.
  1. If you have undertaken any mini-pupillages, work experience, or anything else which is pertinent to your application since completing the form, do mention these at an appropriate time during the interview.
  1. It will take up to three weeks for the office to deal with the administration and confirm the results.
  1. Regardless of whether you have been successful or unsuccessful in your application, you will be informed of the result by email. Middle Temple does not reject by silence.
  1. Feedback on your interview will not be available.