Having only just finished the course myself I am by no means an expert, nor am I a perfect example of how to succeed. But, I loved the course and feel as though I made the most out of it, as well as getting grades that I was happy with.
Many of you will be getting ready to commence the BPTC this week, or next week, or maybe you've beaten me to it and you've already started. Nonetheless, I thought it would be useful to offer some advice from my own experience to help you on your journey.
Hopefully you have already read my 'How to Prepare for the BPTC' post, which gives some little tips for those who were apprehensive of starting or those who just wanted to get themselves ready. If not, no need to worry as the post is still online so you can have a read and see if you can implement some of that advice into the beginning of your course.
So, the time has come and you are starting the BPTC. You are taking the penultimate step to securing your career as a barrister. You are essentially stepping into your big girl/boy shoes and beginning the professional training stage. It's nerve-racking, I'm not going to lie I had no clue what I was in for! However, it was also super exciting as well.
My experience is just one of many, but as I said above, I LOVED IT. Even the slightly boring parts. So let's get into it...
STAY ORGANISED
Yes, it's my favourite word...organisation. I touched on this in the previous BPTC post but it really is the take home tip. The course is busy, really busy, and you may often find yourself struggling to fit everything in one week. If you are someone who is not a naturally organised person then you may find it hard to stay on top of everything. That is not to say that you cannot still succeed, but finding little ways to stay more organised is a real help.
Your course provider will send you your full timetable of all seminar sessions, lectures and talks for the year in advance. This is your golden key to being organised. If you can see what you have coming up this week and the following week that means that you can prepare for them. When I started the course I tried to ensure that I was always one week ahead of my classes. Let me show you what I mean...
Say my timetable was ;
Monday 14th Sept - Ethics
Tuesday 15th Sept - Criminal Litigation + Opinion Writing
Thursday 17th Sept - Civil Advocacy
*I never had teaching on a Friday and sometimes i'd have a day off during the week too!
If my timetable was as above, I would make sure that this week (7th-13th Sept) I would prepare for each of those classes in the order that they appear the following week. So, I would work my way through the prep work for each class and by Monday 14th September, I would be prepared for that whole week.
I completely understand that this is not for everyone and it does require a huge amount of commitment, especially as it meant preparing for classes next week in between classes this week. Some weeks I had 6 classes coming up, which meant I had to dedicate many weekends to completing the prep work. However, if you feel as though you are able to get into the swing of staying ahead you will feel so much better for it.
I had friends who weren't very organised during the course and one friend, Mr X, often had to stay up until silly hours in the morning completing the prep work for the next day. Not only was this eating into his precious hours of sleep but it also lead to a huge amount of mental stress and worry because he was constantly preparing at the last minute.
Of course you may fit somewhere in the middle of me and Mr X, and that is totally fine. My main tip would be to try and find the level of organisation that works for you.
Organisation also includes;
- Deciding upon an efficient note taking system (online or paper)
- Having different folders for each module to store notes, paperwork, feedback sheets
- Ensuring you have your timetable to hand (electronically or physically)
- Allocating your free time to specific tasks
FIND YOUR STUDY SPACE
If I have not made it clear yet you will be studying ALOT. If you are not in classes or lectures you will likely be studying. Therefore, it is really important to find a suitable study space that works for you.
For me, I used 2 spaces. If I was not in classes that day, or did not feel like working at uni, I would work from home. This meant working in my flat where I had a dedicated desk space made up. I bought a fairly cheap desk from amazon, that could fit my laptop and several books all splayed out. I then made sure that there were no distracting items on or close to my desk such as the TV or my phone. Then I equipped my desk with all the bits and bobs I needed, pens, pencils, highlighters, sticky tabs, bottle of water, laptop chargers etc.
The other space I used was in the university building. We were lucky enough to have a dedicated study room for BPTC/LPC students. It was in the law building and was nice and quite, with often very few people in there. This mean that I was able to study in between classes efficiently and in peace.
However you work best, make sure that you find spaces which work for you. If you find yourself getting easily distracted try to find a space that is quieter, with less people and not next to a window if you're a people watcher. Having a dedicated space to get into the zone and crack on with work was really helpful for me. It also made it a lot easier to separate work and chill time. When I was sat at my desk or in that study room I knew I was going to be productive and get the work done.
For those of you who sit in/on your bed and work, please try not to. There are so many studies and evidence that suggest you are much less productive if you work on your bed. It also definitely increases the chances of accidental naps...
PUT IN THE HOURS
Just do the work. It is going to be hard at times and it is going to be tiring too. However, the only real way to succeed is to put in the work. Read the books and rules. Don't just skim all of it, or read a summary you find online. The only way you can truly get the most out of this course and see solid results is to put in the work.
It is the most rewarding thing when you work really hard at something for a significant amount of time and can see your achievements. I often felt exhausted, like my head was too busy with information and that I needed a gigantic coffee to pick me up. This is completely normal (but see the last section on making sure to stay well and healthy)!
The way I used to think about it was that it was only 10 months and that if I worked really hard for those 10 months then it would be worth it. (Thanks to Covid my course ended up being 12 months long...but it was still so worth it!)
UTILISE YOUR PEERS
This course is not a competition. Yes, the majority of your colleagues will be seeking pupillage afterwards, and yes you will probably find people who apply to the same chambers as you. BUT...it is so important to utilise the people around you. If you are friendly and supportive to the others on your course, you can pretty much bet that they will be friendly and supportive back.
I was fortunate enough to find a really great group of friends on my course, who were so supportive and always happy to help. There are 3 main reasons why your peers/colleagues can be super important.
1. Talking through questions, legal issues or confusing rules
My friendship group made a group chat and we would always ask for help, advice, questions on class work etc. This became a really busy platform as we would often share resources we found online or in our books to help each other out. It is not cheating, nor is it scamming yourself to make the most of the people around you. (Unless you talk about assessment content when you're forbidden to...dont do that). It may just be that they spotted something that you didn't in the Civil Procedure Rules, or that their class tutor told them about a case that you did not know about.
2. Practicing advocacy
On the bar course you will usually take 2 advocacy modules, criminal and civil. Apart from those, you will also need to use your communication skills in the conferencing module and potential optional modules. Therefore, there is nothing better than practice, practice, practice. The opportunities to practice in front of a tutor in class may be limited, which is where your friends come in.
I used to stay at uni after classes and go through my civil advocacy argument in front of my friend for the next morning, or we would meet up before an advocacy competition and practice in front of each other. At the beginning it might feel silly or even embarrassing, but I cannot emphasise how much it helped me.
It helps in so many respects; identifying phrases you use, the pace of your delivery, little habits you have, the structure of your argument etc. For example, I didn't even notice that I used to cross and uncross my legs a lot when I was standing and delivering my advocacy, or that I had a tendency to overuse 'Your Honour' in criminal settings. Without practising in front of my friend I would not have noticed.
3. Emotional and moral support
If there is anyone who knows what you are going through and how you are feeling, it is going to be your peers, the people who are going through it all with you. Make sure to lean on those friends, talk to them about how you are doing and offer your support in return. It is not an easy course, however it can be a lot easier if you go through it with other people.
STAY HEALTHY AND MOTIVATED
Without sounding too much like your mum or dad....
- Get enough sleep
- Take some chill time
- Drink lots of water
- Try to eat enough / a balanced diet
The first two are by far the most important...
I am a typical case of someone who used to work until I burned myself out like a candle. I would work myself to the bone and then about every month have a big old cry and let all my stress and worries out. This is not healthy. Chill time is so important. You need to be able to step away from work and do something that you find relaxing, fun or exciting. If you are like me then you might have the 'little guilt monster' that pops into your head when you're not working that says, "for god sake stop relaxing and get on with it, you have tonnes to do." IGNORE IT.
It will help to reduce your stress to take some time off once in a while. For me, this was every Monday evening going to my dance class for an hour, then going to the gym a couple of times in the week, and having a Sunday off every other week to see my friends. It does not have to be long, it can be a walk through the city, a coffee with a friend, a bath...get creative!
Chill time and sleep are also a great tool for boosting motivation. If you find yourself lagging a bit and lacking that drive to keep going, it might be that your candle wick is close to burning out. Going out to do some exercise, seeing a different friend or just making sure you get a good 7/8 hours of sleep can definitely help to reboot your system and re-spark your motivation.
If you are worried about the bar course in any shape or form, or if you are just not sure how to manage it all, then please make try to give time to the above factors. You will see an increase in your productivity, motivation and general wellbeing.
Is this course important - Yes.
Is it a bit stressful at time - Yes.
Does it have the ability to propel you in your career - Yes.
Should it negatively impact on your physical and mental health - NO!
Right that's it from me. Whilst this post is not an exhaustive list, nor is it a cheat sheet, I hope that it will give you some things to think about and implement as you begin this next chapter of your road to the bar.
Thanks for reading and the best of luck.
Monica x