Forty-five percent of Black students passed compared to 66.7 percent of White students
Black students were “slightly less likely” to pass the barristers’ training course, according to the 2024 statistics report released by the UK Bar Standards Board.
As per findings published by the Law Society Gazette, just 45 percent of Black students residing in the UK with a 2:1 undergraduate degree on courses started in 2022/23 passed the courses compared to 66.7 percent of White students. Meanwhile, 52.7 percent of students from Asian descent passed, as did 69.2 percent of mixed-heritage students.
The report was published with the intent of alleviating concerns that the UK Bar Standards Board does not maintain adequately high standards; the evidence, the report indicated, “does not support anxiety about standards.”
Over the most recent five-year period, the number of enrollees in bar training courses increased by 10 percent to 2,406 in 2023-2024. This could result in fewer students securing a pupillage if the number of available positions does not rise at a similar rate, the report noted.
In addition, more graduates from White ethnic backgrounds obtained pupillage than those from minority backgrounds. Nonetheless, White students made up just 58 percent of the total student population in 2023-2024, down from approximately 70 percent in 2013-2014. In the past two academic years, the percentage of students from overseas hit 50 percent.
Passing students who hold a first-class degree secured pupillages the most, and 70 percent of these graduates succeeded in the profession. Between 40 percent and 50 percent of course graduates with a 2:1 got a pupillage while less than one in five of students with a 2:2 did.
Sam Mercer, Bar Council head of diversity and inclusion, and corporate social responsibility, said in a statement that the report would “help potential applicants make an informed decision. It is required reading for anyone wanting to pursue a career at the bar.”
The Bar Standards Board added that it was “not the BSB’s role to limit ambition and demand, provided that prospective students are well-informed about their prospects.”
In 2019-2020, the pass rates for the barristers’ training course were as follows:
White students – 85.2 percent
Asian students – 78.2 percent
Mixed-race students – 72 percent
Black students – 60.7 percent
