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Qualifying Sessions
A Year in Brief
The 2023–24 academic year has been a packed one for The Inner Temple students, with nearly 50 Qualifying Sessions held in person and online across three terms. Students have been treated to a diverse and challenging programme of lectures, workshops and interactive training sessions, with topics ranging from the handling of Vulnerable Witnesses, to criminal ethics, to performance and presentation skills. In particular, we are proud of the development of our Circuit Qualifying Sessions provision, with a number of sessions held in person across the country at various city hubs. Our students on circuit are a vital component of the Inn’s life and community and it is more important than ever that our educational offerings centre their needs wherever possible.
—
Julia Armfield
Education Programmes Manager (Pre-Pupillage)
A Note on Circuit Education Days
The Inn’s Circuit Education Days are yet another Education Department success story worth a round of applause and five minutes of your time to explain how you can get involved.
For the uninitiated, the Circuit Education Days take place over four separate Saturdays in the first quarter of the year in venues around England and Wales. This year was Bristol, Newcastle, Nottingham and Manchester; next year will be Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds.
Kerry Upham and Julia Armfield have consulted widely, taken student and volunteer feedback into account and have developed a solid, dependable yet adaptable programme which runs as a well-oiled machine. When the well-oiled machine rolls into town, the 25 or so students who sign up spend an enjoyable, structured day covering practical skills, advocacy and, most importantly for that time of year (pupillage/scholarship interview season), opportunities for one-to-one mock interview practice and CV review.
What the students take from it is fairly obvious: a rare opportunity to mix with barristers in a relatively relaxed setting; bespoke advice from practising barristers about how to improve their chances in an increasingly competitive pupillage and scholarship application process; and, not to be flippant, our hosts usually do an excellent job when it comes to the lunchtime spread.
For the uninitiated, the Circuit Education Days take place over four separate Saturdays in the first quarter of the year in venues around England and Wales.
But, from someone who has now participated in a number of Circuit Education Days, let me list the things the volunteers take from it, in no particular order. For the avoidance of doubt, most of the points on the list below apply to all education and student events. The first one alone should grab your barristerial ego:
- When you meet a baby barrister in five years’ time and they tell you that meeting you at an education event inspired/motivated them, you may not remember the first time you met them, but you are unlikely forget the second.
- You will expand your own professional network with other Inn volunteers who will be judges, barristers and Masters in different practice areas, in different chambers and in different areas of the country. I have never not taken something positive from those exchanges, even if only confirmation of my view that barristers are usually very funny, as clever people often are.
- If you want to inspire the next generation of barristers, Saturday is the best day to do it. Everyone is tired after a day at work and Sundays are usually homework day. There will usually be an event taking place in a chambers near you and you do not have to go in all day – you can do an hour session.
- It gives you an opportunity to meet some of the brightest stars going through the process and to show Circuit in a positive light. Many of the students I have engaged with over the years know little about Circuit practice and some drift inexorably to London, lured by the sheer number of chambers and (they think) correspondingly increased chance of pupillage success.
- It looks good on your CV if you are interested in applying for positions of responsibility.
- Did I mention the lunchtime spread?
The Inner Temple volunteers are particularly scarce on Circuit. Kerry’s details are below if you would like to get involved. In the expectation I’ve sold it to you, you can help by either:
- Asking your chambers if they can host an Education Day. We need a meeting room to hold a minimum of 20 people for talks and lunch, a few conference rooms for the one-to-one mock interview sessions and someone on hand to let people in the front door and show us where to go. If you can help with recommendations for local suppliers, the Education Department can sort refreshments. Students love coming to chambers. For many of them, much of their university life took place during the pandemic and mini-pupillages are hard to find.
- Volunteering to come along to deliver a talk or advocacy session (which will be pre-produced to ensure uniformity of content across the four education days) or for the mock interview practice, for all the reasons above.
Master Samantha Hillas
