Choose the best Inn for you!
The Inns of Court are professional associations for barristers in England and Wales and play a crucial role in legal education and training for prospective barrister. In order to practice as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of the four Inns of Court – Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple, or Gray’s Inn. The Inns of Court remain the only bodies legally allowed to call a barrister to the Bar.
All four Inns of Court offer generous scholarships to support students undertaking the Bar course. However, the type of scholarship offered and the selection criteria varies by each Inn. As you can apply to only one Inn for a scholarship, or if you become a member then the membership is for life, it is vital that you consider each Inn to determine which would best suit you. While choosing an Inn, students should consider factors such as the culture of the Inn, the types of scholarships offered, the scholarship criteria and process, and any additional support offered such as workshops and mentoring schemes.
Kindly note that the scholarship applications are currently open, and will close on 1 November 2024.
Kindly see below for information about each Inn.
For more information, kindly check the relevant Inns’ website – Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Gray’s Inn.
- Joining Fees: The admission fee to join Lincoln’s Inn is £132.
For more information on joining the Inn, click here.
- Scholarships: Lincoln’s Inn offers a substantial scholarship fund, with over £1.6 million available for allocation to Bar Course students. All the scholarships are awarded on merit, although the value of each award is calculated through a means test, taking into consideration the financial circumstances of the applicant. In total, there are over 100 scholarships offered each year.
For more information about scholarships, click here.
- Additional Prizes: In addition to scholarships, Lincoln’s Inn offers various additional prizes to students who complete the Bar course.
- Residential Scholarship: There is a residential scholarship available, providing support for students who require accommodation while pursuing their legal education. The rent for the accommodation is deducted from the scholarship award.
- Scholar Benefits: Scholars at Lincoln’s Inn benefit from reduced QS fees as well as free admission to the Inn and no Call to the Bar fee, helping to ease the financial burden of qualifying as a barrister.
- Application Sift: The Inn employs an application sift process to evaluate scholarship applications.
Lincoln’s Inn offers the Mini-Pupillage Grant Scheme to provide financial support to students wishing to undertake mini-pupillages who would otherwise not be able to do so. Grants are intended to assist with the costs of travel and accommodation as well as clothing allowance if needed. The value of each grant is calculated based on the applicant’s anticipated expenses up to a maximum of £500. The applicant does not need to be a member of Lincoln’s Inn to apply. For more information, click here.
- Joining Fees: The cost of joining The Inner Temple is £110.
For more information on joining the Inn, click here.
- Scholarships: Inner Temple boasts one of the largest scholarship funds among the Inns, offering over £1.7 million in scholarships for those undertaking the Bar Course.
For more information about scholarships, click here.
- Named Scholarships: Each year, The Inner Temple offers seven Named Scholarships to applicants who receive the highest marks for their scholarship application. These scholarships are not means tested and have award value between £20,000 to £22,000.
- Other Scholarships: The value of approximately 113 other scholarships at Inner Temple is determined through a financial assessment, taking into account the financial situation of the applicant. The award value ranges between £3,000 and £20,000.
- Additional Prizes: In addition to scholarships, The Inner Temple offers various additional prizes to the top scholars and those requiring financial assistance.
- No Residential Scholarship: Unlike some other Inns, Inner Temple does not offer residential scholarships.
- Disability Grants: The Inner Temple also offers additional grants to support disabled students or pupils by covering some of the associated additional costs.
- Guaranteed Interview: Inner Temple does not employ an application sift process. All scholarship candidates are guaranteed an interview.
The Inner Temple also offers the Pegasus Access and Support Scheme (PASS) to support high achieving students from under-represented backgrounds by providing experiences and developing skills that will support a career at the Bar. As part of the Scheme, a student can undertake a mini-pupillage with one of the 62 partner chambers, and reasonable costs such as travel and accommodation are covered by The Inner Temple. For more information, click here.
- Joining Fees: The admission fee to join Middle Temple is £148.
For more information on joining the Inn, click here.
- Scholarships: Middle Temple offers scholarships with a fund of up to £1.6 million. The Queen’s Scholarship and The Queen Mother Scholarship are the most prestigious awards, offered to candidates who show ‘most exceptional promise’. The Middle Temple makes every effort to ensure that those with the greatest need receive the largest award, therefore almost all awards are given based on a candidate’s financial circumstances.
For more information about scholarships, click here.
- Additional Prizes: In addition to scholarships, The Middle Temple also offers various additional prizes.
- No Residential Scholarship: Middle Temple does not provide residential scholarships.
- Guaranteed Interview: Middle Temple does not have an application sift process. All scholarship candidates are interviewed as part of the selection process.
The Middle Temple also operates Access to the Bar Award to offer legal experience opportunities to students belonging to non-legal backgrounds. The scheme provides two weeks of funded work experience (£350 per week) every summer for up to 30 undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. The Inn makes every effort to make the scheme as convenient as possible for the candidate. For more information, click here.
- Joining Fees: The joining fees for Gray’s Inn amount to £100.
For more information on joining the Inn, click here.
- Scholarships: Gray’s Inn offers over £1.4 million in scholarships, making it one of the significant scholarship providers among the Inns. All Bar Course scholarships are awarded based on merit. The Inn aims to offer around 85 scholarships each year, with a minimum award of £5,000 and further means-tested funding available.
For more information about scholarships, click here.
- Residential Scholarships: Gray’s Inn offers rent-free residential scholarships to support students who require accommodation during their Bar course.
- Disability Scholarship Award: Gray’s Inn also offers specific scholarship awards for individuals with disabilities.
- Application Sift: Scholarship applications at Gray’s Inn go through an application sift process to evaluate and select deserving candidates.
*This information was either provided to us or taken directly from the relevant Inns’ website.