GDL Scholarship Application

Please note that before you can complete the scholarship application form you must first complete a short form to provide your name and contact details.  If you have not already done so, click here to provide this information. 

Information for Applicants

Please read the following information carefully before you complete the application form.  At the end of the application form you will be asked to confirm that you have read and understood the below information. 

General

The Middle Temple interviews every applicant for a scholarship who has applied for a place on the GDL course and satisfies the criteria for applications.  Both the written application form and the interview will be marked.

The name of the school you attended will be redacted.  If you consider that it is relevant to indicate the type of school you attended, there is an 'Additional Information Box' at the end of the application form where you will be able to provide such information.   Elsewhere on the application form you will be able to indicate any school achievements that you wish to refer to.

Decisions on who receives a scholarship are made on merit as outlined by these criteria:

• Intellectual ability: the ability to conduct legal research and give written advice, as demonstrated by performance in school and university examinations, the application form, the interview and, where appropriate, other experience.
   
• Motivation to succeed at the Bar in England and Wales: demonstrated by knowledge of the profession and the Courts in England and Wales, and steps taken to acquire the personal skills required of a Barrister.  This can include but it not limited to court visits (in person or online), mini pupillages, mooting, etc. We recognise that opportunities to demonstrate motivation will be different for different people and so it is important that you should include any information which you consider demonstrates your motivation (this could include overcoming personal, family, educational and/or financial difficulties in your journey to the Bar to date).
   
• Potential as an advocate: the ability to make and respond to arguments effectively, both orally and in writing.
   
• Potential to succeed in a career as a barrister:  self-reliance, the ability to work independently where required and as part of a team; the capacity to work effectively with clients, colleagues, and staff. 

Finances

In determining the size of individual awards, interviewing panels take applicants’ individual financial circumstances into account, although it is highly unlikely that the scholarship will cover the full cost of your year attending the course.  The size of individual awards will not be published.

Please note the following:

1. You can only apply to one Inn.  You do not need to be a member of the Inn at the time of application, but you will need to join before being paid any scholarship which you may be awarded.
    
2. Full-time students must apply in the March-May of the academic year before they start their course. Part-time students can apply for a scholarship in the March-May of the year before they start the first year or before they start the second year. If an award is made before the start of the part-time course, half of the award will be paid in each year.  Applications cannot be made once the full-time course or the second year of the part-time course has begun.
    
3. You must complete the whole of the form (unless a section is clearly optional).  If any mandatory sections are left blank, your form will not be considered by an interview panel, and you will not be invited for an interview.
    
4. Middle Temple scholarships are awarded on merit. Scholarships are only available for those who intend to undertake pupillage at the Bar in England and Wales and who intend to practise at the Bar in England and Wales. 
    
5. You will be asked to make certain declarations at the end of the application form.  Misrepresentation of information in the application form and/or false declarations are viewed seriously by Middle Temple and may lead to consequences. 

Overview of Relevant Dates

If you do not receive one of the emails detailed below it is your responsibility to contact us.  If you change your email address, please make sure you let us know.