A Level
The route to becoming a barrister will require attendance at university. Therefore, when at school, depending on which university your child may wish to attend, they should consider first what universities' entry requirements may be. Your child may wish to talk to universities about what they look for in their admissions criteria, and that may inform your child's choice of subjects at A Level. Universities may have a ‘preferred’ subjects list, or they might specify that pupils must study an A Level subject which focuses on developing specific skills, such as essay writing.
Extra-curricular activities
Some universities like to see that pupils have undertaken additional extra-curricular activities when doing A Levels, and these might prove useful in getting a place. The extra-curricular activities your child undertakes can be demonstrated within the personal statement on their UCAS form. Your child’s referee can also tailor their reference for their UCAS statement to explain their career plans.
Your child might, at this time, decide to undertake some work experience. For example, if they are lucky, they might ‘shadow’ a barrister during a working week, seeing what they do, and how the courts operate. You can encourage your child to contact local barristers' chambers and see if it is possible to shadow a barrister. However, please note that because barristers are self-employed, and often very busy professionals, that it is not normal practice for A Level pupils to shadow them in court. If your child is unable to spend time with a barrister, they can simply walk in and watch court proceedings from the public gallery in a court building. Again, you should note that the content of some court proceedings can traumatic, so appropriate safeguards should be taken.
Your child might also decide to undertake some work experience in a solicitors' firm to decide if a legal career is right for them. You could encourage them to write to local firms to see if this is possible and support them in doing so. As stated in the section entitled ‘School’, it is important to remember that chambers and solicitors' firms receive a lot of requests for work experience, and a covering letter should be provided to the specifications stated within this section.
Careers advisors
Schools and colleges have careers resources, and sometimes a dedicated careers advisor, who can support pupils with their UCAS form and in obtaining work experience.
