The Pupillage Gateway opens for applications in January and closes in February. First and second round interview offers are sent out, and interviews conducted, throughout February, March, April and May. Offers are then made through the Gateway in early May. This timing should ensure that candidates will know whether they have secured pupillage before deciding to pay the expensive fees to enrol on the Bar course. As a rule of thumb, you should apply for pupillage at least a year before you wish to start – that is, in January 2022 for a pupillage beginning in 2023. You can apply to up to 12 Gateway chambers (but as many non- Gateway chambers as you like). There is no clearing period. Tenancy On satisfactory completion of pupillage, a pupil will ideally be offered a tenancy at the set in which they have trained. However, a quick comparison of the figures concerning the ratio of pupillages to tenancies reveals that this does not necessarily happen. Inevitably, chambers cannot expand indefinitely and sometimes even the most gifted pupil is turned away. In such cases, pupils must work hard to secure a tenancy by any means possible (eg, by undertaking a third or even fourth six or, as a last resort, becoming a ‘squatter’ (a non-member who uses a set as a base)).
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