Barristers Training Courses (BTC)

Find out about your offer to study one of our Barristers Training Courses at Nottingham Law School and what to do next.

Congratulations on your offer

Congratulations on receiving an offer to study one of our Barristers Training Courses (BTC) at Nottingham Law School.

Our BTC courses have been designed to equip you with the procedural knowledge and practical skills. We have a strong network of senior academics, together with practising barristers and judges who assist in developing the course.

By accepting your offer, you'll be joining the first legal education provider in the UK to offer the opportunity to gain an LLM award as an integral part of the vocational course.

Assuming the successful completion of an additional module. If you have applied for and completed the LLM Barristers Training Course, you will gain an additional qualification that is internationally recognised. The LLM Barristers Training Course is also eligible for the UK Postgraduate Masters Loan.

We look forward to welcoming you at enrolment.

Hear from current students about what it's like to study at Nottingham Law School.

A reputation you can trust

Join a Law School with more than six decades of experience and a long-established record of excellence in legal education, recognised nationally for producing practice-ready barristers.

A seamless route to the Bar

Our courses provide you with the full foundation of legal knowledge and the professional skills required for your training, while preparing you to pass the Bar and progress confidently towards practice.

Training grounded in real practice

Work with realistic case scenarios and gain the qualifications, practical skills and professional insight that Chambers and employers expect.

Focused support towards pupillage

Our dedicated Employability team will guide you through every stage of the recruitment process, offering expert advice, application support and exclusive opportunities to help you secure pupillage.

Exceptional practical experience

Build your advocacy and client-care skills in our multi-award-winning on-campus law firm, NLS Legal, a unique opportunity to work on real cases with real clients.

Career-enhancing opportunities for every student

Throughout the course, you’ll take part in structured activities designed to strengthen your profile and accelerate your career at the Bar.

Interactive, in-person learning

Weekly small-group workshops foster discussion, collaboration and confidence, supported by teaching staff who know you and are invested in your progress.

Personalised academic and professional support

You’ll have a dedicated personal tutor who will get to know you, guide your learning, and support your early career development, including your first applications to Chambers.

An authorised provider with proven expertise

Nottingham Law School is one of a select number of institutions authorised by the Bar Standards Board to deliver vocational training for the Bar, with a long-standing strength in practical skills development.

Outstanding facilities and a vibrant university experience

Benefit from all the resources of a top university, specialist spaces, an outstanding library and IT support, alongside a dynamic university environment with sports clubs, societies, language support and a thriving Students’ Union.

Bar Qualification Manual

The BSB’s Bar Qualification Manual generally requires students to have completed their academic component. This includes obtaining a Law Degree, or completing the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Common Professional Examination (CPE).

If you are awaiting the final results for your degree, GDL or CPE, you will be permitted to enrol if you have a result outstanding in no more than one subject. This applies if you are to receive your final results by 1 October and you have applied to the BSB for early commencement of the vocational component. The BSB will charge you an administrative fee for this.

Language requirements

The BTC requires that students be fluent in English. Applicants need to be able to demonstrate that their English language ability is equivalent to a minimum score of 7.5 in each element of the IELTS test.

International students will be required to produce a certificate evidencing the necessary IELTS scores or equivalents unless they have:

An actual or predicted degree classification of 2.1 or above in a degree undertaken in the UK and awarded by a UK institution;*
An actual or predicted commendation or above in the GDL undertaken in the UK and awarded by a UK institution; or
An actual or predicted commendation or above in a taught Masters undertaken in the UK and awarded by a UK institution.

We currently accept the following as alternatives to IELTS:

Pearson Test of English (Academic)
TOEFL

*1 year of study in the UK will satisfy this requirement.

It is in your interests to take IELTS (or equivalent) and upload your certificate to the Applicant Portal by 31 July 2026, as we will be unable to issue a Confirmation of Acceptance (CAS) statement for visa purposes until we have received it.

The IELTS website provides further information regarding the test, together with details of the centres that are available to administer the test.
The Pearson Test of English (Academic) requires a minimum score of 73 in each section.
The TOEFL iBT requires minimum scores of Reading: 27; Listening: 27; Speaking: 24; Writing: 29

All details of your offer can be found on the Applicant Portal.

If you wish to accept your offer, log onto the Applicant Portal and follow the instructions set out in your offer email. We aim to acknowledge your acceptance straight away. If you don’t hear from us, please contact us via Ask NTU.

Membership of an Inn of Court

To enrol on either course, you must be a member of an Inn of Court. Please refer to the Inns’ websites for details of their closing dates for applications.

Once you’ve met all of your offer conditions you should enrol online. Please do this before the start of your course.

Course start dates:

Start dates have yet to be confirmed for the 2026/27 academic year, in the meantime please find below the 2025/26 start dates as an indication:

Wednesday 10 September 2025: PGDip Barristers Training Courses, LLM Barristers Training Course.

All students should note that, on enrolment, you will be required to sign a declaration by which you:

acknowledge the BSB’s English language requirement
confirm that you meet that requirement
acknowledge that if, subsequent to your enrolment, we consider that your English language ability is unsatisfactory, or that there is a question as to whether any aspect of it is at the required level, we will require you to take one of the above language tests
acknowledge that, should you fail to provide evidence that you have attained the minimum scores above, within the period specified, you will be required to either withdraw from the course or intermit and attain the minimum scores prior to being readmitted to the course in a subsequent academic year
confirm that, if you are required to withdraw, you will be liable for any course fees that are due and outstanding on the date of withdrawal. If you are required to intermit, you will be liable to pay the course fees that apply to the course at the date of readmission. You must also meet any additional entry or enrolment conditions that the BSB might prescribe. You are personally responsible for any costs incurred in taking the above test and any resit attempt(s) thereof.

Please contact us via Ask NTU if you wish to defer your place.

As a postgraduate student, you can apply for University accommodation. To guarantee yourself a place, you should apply and pay your deposit before the end of May.

Our offer is based on the assumption that, when you made your application, you disclosed any disability that might affect the way in which we deliver the course or assess you.

In such a case, we will either:

agree with you that the disability will require no special facilities, or
meet you to discuss what facilities will be necessary.

If you have a disability but have not yet disclosed it, we need to hear from you immediately so that we can evaluate your needs and determine what adjustments we are able to make to accommodate those needs. Please contact Student Support Services by emailing Student Support.

Please note that if you are a current student at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and you already have adjustments through Student Support Services for your current course, these adjustments will not automatically be carried forward on to the Barristers Training Course. You will need to contact Student Support Services as soon as possible so a fresh evaluation can be made to accommodate your needs.

International students are required to make an advance payment. To learn more, find out how and when to pay your fees.

Other important information

If you are an international student, your CAS statement will set out both the title of the course and the nature of the award. If you have applied for the LLM Barristers Training Course and you fail to successfully complete it, you may encounter difficulties in obtaining a visa should you subsequently apply for a further visa to study another course.

You may be entitled to £200 towards the cost of an English Language Test

This would be subject to the following terms and conditions as outlined below:

You will need to have applied to join the LLM BTC or PG Dip BTC starting in September 2026.
An English Language test (IELTS, PTE, TOEFL) is required as part of the conditional offer.
NTU would only cover the cost of one successful test (not any unsuccessful sits), taken between 1 October 2025 - 31 July 2026, and the reimbursement would be paid after you have fully enrolled on the course.
Applicants who do not to enrol at NTU in September 2026 will not be eligible for reimbursement. This includes students who have not met the conditions of their offer, or who have not chosen to accept their offer and enrol with NTU.
Applicants must be classed by NTU as International students for fee-assessment purposes.

Nottingham Law School is delighted to offer a number of generous scholarships and loyalty schemes to students starting our Barristers Training Courses including;

Dean's Professional Courses Scholarships for Academic Excellence and Outstanding Achievement
Progression and alumni discounts

Our LLM Barristers Training Course also satisfies the academic requirements for the UK Postgraduate Masters Loan.

For more information visit our NLS Funding page.

Course fees

For information on course fees please visit the relevant course page:

Other important considerations

If you have applied for the LLM Barristers Training Course and apply for the UK Postgraduate Masters Loan, you will need to intend to complete all elements of the course. Should you withdraw from the course during the academic year, we will be obliged to notify Student Finance England, which may result in your instalments being terminated and / or a request for repayment if an overpayment has been made.

Visit us at one of our Postgraduate open events, find out more about student life and meet our academics.

Your future career

Successful completion of this course enables you to be called to the Bar and progress to pupillage. Throughout your training, you’ll receive tailored support from our specialist careers and placement team, who will help you pursue pupillage or alternative legal pathways.

You’ll benefit from one-to-one advice, application reviews and mock interviews, as well as a programme of workshops that follow the pupillage application cycle. These sessions focus on both practice at the Bar and wider legal career options. Course tutors are also available for career guidance, drawing on their experience in practice.

Links with the profession

Our strong professional connections give you exceptional insight into life at the Bar. Guest lectures, practitioner-led workshops and networking events run throughout the year, giving you regular opportunities to meet practising barristers.

We also host the annual Nottingham Law School Law Fair, where NLS students gain exclusive access to Chambers representatives, a valuable chance to network and build relationships ahead of mini-pupillage and pupillage applications.

Our careers consultants will support you in securing work experience and other legal employment, helping you develop a competitive profile.

Gain practical experience at NLS

NLS Legal: As part of your BTC journey, you’ll have the opportunity to work with NLS Legal, our fully regulated, multi-award-winning on-campus teaching law firm. Each year, hundreds of students volunteer and gain real experience with real clients in a supportive environment, reinforcing the skills developed throughout the course while contributing to access to justice in the local community.

Support Through Court: Nottingham Law School is the sole host university for Support Through Court’s National Helpline and National Online Service, which assist people navigating the court system without legal representation. Students can volunteer to support callers and service users, without giving legal advice, gaining valuable experience in client communication, empathy and legal system awareness, all essential skills for future barristers.

Find out more about employability support at NLS.