I can’t imagine that any barristers in practice have faced the same practical obstacles and adverse ratio of applicants to places as this year’s BPTC students and aspiring pupils. Congratulations to those who have had offers today, and commiserations to those who have not

It’s terribly demoralising to put commitment and effort towards something in which you don’t succeed, and hard to keep going afterwards. But there are many people who didn’t succeed in one year but did the next, having focused on ways in which they could improve their application

Please do ask for and take advice which is helpful to you, to this end, if you are in this position. It’s a competitive profession and every chambers will have turned down able and likeable applicants, but we do try to recruit in a fair and meritocratic way - it isn’t just luck

In many civil sets, an offer of pupillage is effectively with a view to an offer of tenancy, an absolute turning point in every barrister’s professional life. But it’s still no guarantee against the experience of that same demoralising feeling eg in losing a case you hoped to win

Overcoming those experiences, putting an end to “the long dark chambers teatime of the soul”, is as much part of the years of practising life ahead as is the elation of courtroom persuasion, which successful candidates are deservedly enjoying today

One last thing - from what I’ve heard, some civil sets have expected a big commitment of time to preparing an assessed exercise for a second round interview - perhaps too big a commitment? Scope for specialist bar associations to work towards an agreed cap on expected prep time?

Actually not the last thing, @Joanna__Hardy has compiled this very useful thread of people willing to talk privately to applicants about rejection and to offer guidance about revising future applications in various fields of practice https://twitter.com/joanna__hardy/status/1390635071963635712