Bar Course Aptitude Test pass mark raised to exclude weaker candidates

The Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT), which all aspiring barristers must pass to gain a place on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), is to have its pass mark raised to exclude students who would be unlikely to pass the course or secure pupillage.

The decision has been made by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) in order to protect students who might otherwise be encouraged to take the highly expensive BPTC with little prospect of a career at the Bar at the end of it. The BCAT was introduced in 2013 to combat the problem of unscrupulous law schools admitting unrealistic candidates onto the BPTC as a money making exercise, but it has since been decided that the test is still letting too many of these candidates through. As Legal Cheek reports, the pass mark will be raised from 37 out of a possible 80 marks to 45. It is hoped that this may mitigate the criticisms levelled at the BCAT since its introduction, with many students claiming that it is almost impossible to fail. The test will reopen for 2016 BPTC entrants on 4 April.

Dr Simon Thornton-Wood, the BSB’s director of education and training, said: “The BCAT is proven to be a very effective test of important critical thinking skills for the BPTC, and will give students a reliable indicator of their likely chances of success before they embark on the BPTC, which can be costly, as we are keenly aware.”