Late yesterday afternoon an interesting tweet appeared…
Exciting news! BPP BPTC Career Guarantee- if you don’t obtain pupillage 6 months after graduating, study the LPC free http://t.co/ETgOWBUhpO
— BPP Law School (@BPPLawSchool) November 21, 2013
We spoke to BPP Law School boss Peter Crisp and he gave us these additional details:
> The deal starts next year and DOESN’T apply to this year’s Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) students.
> It must be taken up within 12 months of graduating from the BPTC (which, when you think about it, is quite a narrow window).
> The shortened version of the Legal Practice Course (LPC) which future BPP BPTC grads will be eligible for will, thanks to a number of exemptions, take just four months if studied full time. It can also be done part-time.
Crisp — who has previously urged wannabe lawyer to avoid the criminal Bar — explained the move like this: “Pupillages are decreasing and it is a big risk taking on the BPTC. This is one way of mitigating the risk.”
However, reading between the lines, the reasoning behind the offer seems to be a concern to avoid a backlash against law schools charging £17K for a course that is unlikely to lead to a job at a time when undergraduate fees have just trebled.
If BPP avoids attracting the tag as the downmarket law school where the Bar no-hopers go — a risk with this sort of strategy (see tweet below) — expect other providers to follow.
@BPPLawSchool "Free LPC if no pupillage in 6 months" sounds more like I'm buying a Hoover from Curry's than an education! @legalcheek
— Charlotte Evans (@EvsChar) November 21, 2013
What a shame, though, that BPP has chosen to exclude its current BPTC students from the offer. Just to recap on the absurdity of the situation which awaits them: there are expected to be around 400 pupillages in the next application round being fought over by approximately 1,700 enrolled BPTC students and many more jobless hopefuls from previous years.
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