Law graduates call for cancellation of face-to-face exams

Law graduates training to become barristers have called on regulators to cancel face-to-face exams and move them online instead.

The exams have currently been delayed until August, but students have asked that the Bar Standards Board (BSB), which regulates the exams, prioritise student wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) is one of the few courses where students must still sit exams in person. Regulators insist that this is necessary to uphold the “high standards and integrity” of the qualification.

In an open letter signed by more than 200 BPTC trainees, the BSB has been urged to rethink its stance.

The letter reads: “In an extraordinary time of a global pandemic (…) It is essential that the BSB considers (the) human impact, and (…) make adjustments to the format of the exams.”

The BSB has currently postponed the course’s April exams, with a view to holding them in August 2020. It is working on contingency plans in the event that the August sit is not possible.

In a comment, the BSB said: “We are conscious that this is a difficult and uncertain time for students.

“However, there is no secure solution that could be put in place by April to enable us to deliver these exams as normal. The next scheduled opportunity is August and that is what we are working toward.”

The Bar Council says that there is “no reason” that exams must be face-to-face in August, and that this may “not be the best solution” for students.

It means students will be sitting exams long after their teaching has finished, and very close to the time when their pupillages would start. And it is unclear how resits can be accommodated

– Nicholas Vineall

Nicholas Vineall QC, chair of the Bar Council’s education and training committee, said: “It creates delay and uncertainty for students.

“It means students will be sitting exams long after their teaching has finished, and very close to the time when their pupillages would start. And it is unclear how resits can be accommodated.

“It ought to be possible to arrange for these exams to be taken online,” he added.

Students have also echoed the concern that it could be difficult to begin their pupillage, effectively starting their careers, if current plans go ahead.

International students who have returned home may also be unable to return and sit exams in August.

Alex Mullen, a law student at BPP University Law School, says it would be a financial struggle for him to sit face-to-face exams in August. “I have a scholarship designed to pay for my course and the costs of living until the end of the course, which is now longer than when they thought it would be.

“My tenancy also ends in August, so I could have to find somewhere to live for two weeks in the middle of what is going to be a really stressful exam season,” he says.

Robert Harris, a student at City Law School, says the situation is tense. “We don’t want to overplay our concerns and we recognise this is a difficult time for everyone and others have it worse, but still these are real concerns. For me, the key impact is on when I’ll be able to start my pupillage.

“It seems strange that the Bar course is the only one to say [moving assessments online is] not possible.”