Pupillage Training - courses and materials

For the cost of one pound per day per pupil we provide an extensive range of courses and training materials that pupil supervisors can use, to enable their pupils to meet the requirements specified in the Professional Statement of Competences. 

With approximately 150 lessons, in a mixture of structured video presentations, text resources and exercises, the courses and materials should add value to the training that Chambers provide their pupils. By blending the theory of the subjects covered online with the practical and hands on teaching that Chambers provide, pupils should develop the requisite requirements specified in the Professional Statement of Competences.

All of our materials are inclusive by design, and all video have full transcripts available in a range of accessible formats, so pupils can use the materials in a format that works well for them, in terms of either learning styles or to cater for pupils with a range of disabilities and conditions. For example, video transcripts are available in a large font, written in black text on a white background. As well as being a good, general purpose transcript, autistic or neurodiverse pupils often find it more helpful to read transcripts written in a black text on a white background. Video transcripts are also available in a 'dyslexia friendly' format in that they are written in brown text on a yellow background. The transcripts are also available in a format that is readable by screen readers and those that are visually impaired.

The scope and design of the course materials have been designed to provide a full set of maintained and updated training resources for pupils with the aim of saving the time of pupil supervisors, and providing pupil supervisors with a bank of classes and resources that they can use in whatever ways work best for them, including:

1. Allocating some of the classes or materials to pupils to work through, if the pupil supervisor is unexpectedly called away, and needs to give their pupils something to get on with in the meantime.

2. To allocate certain specific classes or topics for pupils to work through, that Chambers currently don't cover as part of their training, such as building a trauma informed practice, or working through materials that cover the key principles of the Harman Independent Review of Bullying and Harassment at the Bar, and what pupils can do if they, or someone they know, finds themselves in that situation.

3. Integrating these materials with the training programme that Chambers already provide.

Available 24/7, pupils can work their way through the resources at their own pace or as directed by chambers and will receive certificates to confirm their completion of each topic.

Topics that pupils can work through include:

1. Developing your research and business development skills.
2. Building a trauma informed practice.
3. Critical thinking including being able to identify logical fallacies.
4. Hints and tips regarding key stages of a legal argument plus the importance of ethics to persuasive advocacy.
5. Ethics, including training for pupils on bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar, what that might involve, and what they can do if they or someone they know is in that situation. (as per recommendation 11 of the Harman Review). The focus of these materials is more on general principles of Bar ethics, rather than the Core Duties, as pupils are already required to complete a mandatory ethics course during pupillage. 
6. Witness handling including a large section on cross-examination, which includes loads of historical case studies as well as detailed rules relating to examination in chief and cross examination.  Pupils can draft cross examinations relating to famous cases and then compare what they have done with the cross examination that was actually given. Pupils also have the opportunity to role play famous cross examinations and also reverse engineer the points of each question being asked in famous cross examinations, so they can work out the underlying strategy that a historical KC actually used.
7. The elements of an argument and how to evaluate the arguments of others (argumentation) which includes a course textbook.
8. Introduction to legal rhetoric or the art of persuasion.

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>> View How the Course Matches Up With the PSC

Course Duration

The expected duration of using the courses and materials is one year, covering a pupils first and second six.

Course Cost

With an expected course duration of one year, courses fees have been set at £1 per pupil per day - in other words £365 + VAT per pupil for a year's subscription!

Our Guarantee - sign up with confidence

Our guarantee. This course is unique and has been developed by and delivered by a highly experienced university lecturer with over 20 years experience of teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

If after 14 days to evaluate the content you feel the course is not going to meet your needs, we will refund your course fee in full.