Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 31st December 2025.

For many, the stereotypical image of a barrister is someone who speaks in RP, comes from a wealthy family, and attended an elite public school followed by Oxford or Cambridge University. Unfortunately, the stereotype still bears some relation to reality. The Bar Standards Board’s most recent Diversity at the Bar Report (published in January 2025) records, yet again, that “it appears that a disproportionately high percentage of the Bar primarily attended an independent secondary school.”

We don’t agree that barristers should fit that stereotype, or that, that background guarantees the making of a good barrister. So, in 2020, we launched our Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage, with the dual aims of encouraging prospective pupillage applicants from socially-mobile backgrounds to consider practising at the Chancery Bar, and assisting those candidates who meet our criteria to reach the interview stage of the pupillage application process.

More information about our Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage programme

Each year, we offer up to ten assessed mini-pupillage places.
The assessed mini-pupillage is for a period of two days, during which candidates will spend one day shadowing a member of Chambers, and one day undertaking an oral advocacy assessment. Mini-pupils will be asked to complete a written advocacy assessment following the mini-pupillage.
All candidates who perform well during the assessed mini-pupillage will be guaranteed a first-round interview for pupillage in the next recruitment round in which they are eligible to apply. Please note that an application for pupillage through Pupillage Gateway is necessary even if a candidate is guaranteed a first-round interview.

Where does this take place?

The assessed mini-pupillage takes place in Chambers, but we are happy for candidates to attend virtually, or partially virtually should they wish to. In the latter case, candidates will need to be able to access and use platforms such as Skype for Business, Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Chambers will reimburse candidates for reasonable travel expenses.

Who can apply?

The Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage is open to socially-mobile candidates. As a minimum, applicants should have attended a state secondary school, AND also fulfil one or more of the following criteria:

Your parent(s) did not attend university;
Your household income is less than £25,000;
Anyone in your immediate family (i.e. primary carer or siblings) has at any point received state benefits;
You have at any point been eligible for free school meals;
You have been in care and/or are a carer; or
You have refugee or asylum status.

Please note that we rely on self-certification as to the above criteria being met, and the criteria themselves are only potential indicators of social mobility. Even if the criteria are prima facie met, we would ask potential applications to consider whether they are genuinely the intended target for this scheme. For example, a person’s educational background (such as attending a state school or being the first in their family to go to university) does not necessarily reflect their overall socio-economic position, which may still be relatively comfortable or middle class.

Applications from women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and people with disabilities are particularly encouraged.

Preference will be given to applicants applying for pupillage in the 2026 application window.

Candidates who are unsuccessful in obtaining a mini-pupillage are encouraged to reapply. However, in order to ensure that the scheme benefits as many people as possible, we are not able to accept repeat applications from those who have completed the scheme but were not successful in being guaranteed a first-round pupillage interview.

How can you apply?

The application deadline for mini-pupillages in early 2026 is Wednesday 31st December 2025. Offers will be made in late January 2026, with mini-pupillages taking place thereafter. Please note that applicants who have applied for pupillage in the 2026 application window will need to be available to complete their mini-pupillage (including the written advocacy exercise) in February or March 2026.
Applications should be made using Chambers’ Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage application form: apply here.
Only applications made through our online form will be considered.
If you have any accessibility requirements for submitting an application form, please contact minipupillage@newsquarechambers.co.uk with “Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage” in the subject line.

More information

Additional correspondence regarding the Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage, including any requests for reasonable adjustments, should be made to Mark Townsend, Chloe Rixon or Rabby Fozlay on +44 (0)20 7419 8000 or at minipupillage@newsquarechambers.co.uk.