Barristers Educational Background

Below are extracts taken from the Bar Standards Board 2013 Biennial Survey of Barristers. It's interesting to note that while the Bar is not as elitist as its image suggests the current trend is to go back to being elitist:-

Educational profile of barristers:

Across all barristers 56 per cent went to state schools and 44 per cent to fee-paying schools, the same as reported in 2011. Female barristers are significantly more likely to have attended state schools than male (65% compared with 51% of men) and this is the key variable correlated with type of secondary schooling. It is also noticeable that more of the under 30 age group attended state schools and fewer of the 60 plus age group; however, this is partly linked to the relative number of women in each age group. It is also noticeable that more BME barristers went to state schools (67%), more of those who are gay/bisexual (67%) and more of those with adult caring responsibilities (66%). These differences were all noticeable in 2011 as well, reinforcing the reliability of the data.

One final issue that was also mentioned in 2011 and bears repeating is that those barristers who started a career at the Bar later in life i.e. they were Called to the Bar aged 30 plus are more likely to have attended state schools (66%).

Across all barristers, three in ten (32%, 30% in 2011) went to Oxbridge, 39 per cent went to Russell Group universities and seven per cent went to 1994 Group universities. Just 13 per cent went to the old polytechnic sector of higher education.

In recent years more new entrants to the Bar were educated at Oxford or Cambridge with 45 per cent of
the Young Bar (new entrants 1-3 years) having attended Oxbridge, compared with 31 per cent across the remainder of the Bar. Among those who started their career at the Bar later in life i.e. aged 30 plus, fewer attended Oxbridge or Russell group universities (16% and 33% respectively compared with 35% and 40% among more traditional entrants to the Bar; Table 2.1).

Whether or not barristers qualified later in life as mature entrants or were younger traditional entrants to the profession is strongly correlated with the university attended. For example, just under half (49%) of non- traditional entrants to the profession attended Oxbridge/ Russell Group compared with 75 per cent of traditional entrants. This variable accounts for most of the variation in university attended. Conversely many more non-traditional entrants to the profession studied at ‘1992 universities’ i.e. the old Polytechnic sector (20% compared with 10% of thosewhowerecalledtotheBaragedunder30).

In addition to this, more BME barristers came from 1992 universities (21% compared with 10% of white barristers) and fewer went to Oxbridge (16% compared with 33% of white barristers).

Source: Bar Standards Board biennial survey 2013.