83% Pupils Report Positive Pupillage Experience as Bullying and Harassment Decline

More than 80% of pupil barristers said their overall experience of pupillage was positive, according to a survey published today.

The Bar Council’s annual pupil survey – answered by 30% of all pupils – found 83% had an overall positive pupillage experience while more than half (56%) described it as ‘very positive’.

Three quarters of pupils said a career at the Bar was ‘viable’ going forward with a lack of work-life balance cited as being the main issue.

For the first time this year, the Bar’s representative body asked pupils about the induction process at the start of their pupillage. Most (77%) said they were satisfied with it.

However, disabled pupils were more negative about both their induction and their pupillage more broadly, particularly those who are neurodivergent. Just under a third of disabled pupils were unhappy with their overall experience (compared to 13% of those without a disability).

While fewer than 10% who answered the survey were in their practising period (second six), they were far more negative about pupillage than those in their non practising period (first six). They were more dubious about a future at the Bar, reported higher levels of stress and were more likely to experience incidents of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

The Bar Council found incidents of bullying, harassment and discrimination are reducing amongst all pupils, especially when compared to the Bar as a whole, with incidents most often relating to gender and race.

When asked who the perpetrator of the inappropriate behaviour was, the majority (59%) said it was another barrister, one in four (24%) said it was their pupil supervisor (an increase from 18% last year) and a third (33%) said it was a member of the judiciary.

In September last year, the Bar Council published its independent review into bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, carried out by Baroness Harriet Harman KC. Recommendations included protection and safeguarding of pupils as well as appointing a Commissioner for Conduct to oversee reform.

Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said: “The Bar is a wonderful profession, as demonstrated by many of the positive responses we received to this survey. It’s vital that our junior colleagues and aspiring barristers are supported along the pathway to and into the Bar. The Bar Council seeks to do this. One focus of mine is improving access to practice for barristers with disabilities, seen and unseen, and those who are neurodivergent.

“We recently published a new neurodiversity guide with advice for chambers and pupils, and we will continue to work closely with chambers using the findings of this and previous surveys, to ensure that our pupils have a strong and positive a start at the Bar. Fundamentally, there is no place for bullying and harassment at the Bar, and I am determined to work alongside the new Commissioner for Conduct to stamp out these behaviours. Crucially, being a barrister is an excellent, important and rewarding career."

The Bar’s Commissioner for Conduct Dame Maria Miller said: “Experiences of inappropriate behaviour have a detrimental impact on pupils - two thirds who reported personally experiencing inappropriate behaviour told us their overall experience of pupillage was a negative one.

“Bullying and harassment is one of the biggest problems that people experience when it comes to being the best they can be. We will be providing guidance, support and advice to the Bar as well as promoting good practice and campaigning for change. It’s vital that if we're going to continue to produce the best barristers in the world, then we must deliver a behavioural change, keeping us preeminent and ahead of the curve.”

Key findings include:

• 83% of respondents said that their overall experience of pupillage had been positive – more than half (56%) said it was ‘very positive’
• Nearly a third (30%) of disabled pupils were ‘negative’ about their pupillage experience compared to 13% of those without a disability
• 4 in 10 successfully secured pupillage after one application round, 48% took two or three application rounds and 16% took 4 or more rounds
• For the first time, we asked about pupillage induction. The majority (77%) were satisfied, but neurodivergent pupils were twice as likely to indicate that they were either ‘not satisfied’ or ‘neutral’ with their induction
• Nearly three quarters of pupils (72%) said that a career at the Bar was ‘viable’ going forward – a 10% improvement compared to last year
• A lack of work-life balance was the main reason given for a career not being viable. This was raised as an issue more among women and disabled pupils
• Overall incidents of bullying, harassment and/or discrimination appear to be falling. 21 pupils (18%) said they had witnessed or experienced these behaviours, a reduction from the 28% reported in 2025 and the 26% in 2024

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