A Northumbria University law student with her
sights set on becoming a barrister has won a top scholarship from The
Honourable Society of the Inner Temple to fund her Bar Professional Training
Course (BPTC).
Sophie Land, 27 from Newcastle, decided to swap
an international career in the oil and gas industry for the courtroom, and is
now studying on the Graduate Diploma in Law programme at Northumbria University
Law School.
She has been awarded a Princess Royal
Scholarship of £20,000 to support her studies. The Inner Temple’s Princess
Royal Scholarships are awarded strictly on merit and are hotly contested. They
require students to complete a rigorous application and interview process.
Describing her achievement, Sophie said: “I
worked extremely hard to make sure that I stood out at interview. I talked
about my commercial experience, and made every effort to take advantage of the
extra-curricular activities and competitions that Northumbria University has to
offer. I am very grateful for their support.”
The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) is
the vocational stage of training to become a barrister in England and Wales and
acts as the bridge between the academic study of law in the classroom to the practice
of law in the courtroom.
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple,
commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of four Inns of Court, which are the
professional associations that provide legal training, selection and regulation
to barristers in the UK.
Ann Ferguson, deputy programme leader of the
Legal Practice Course (LPC) at Northumbria Law School, said: “We are delighted
with Sophie’s success; this prestigious scholarship is an outstanding
achievement for a high calibre student. We are very pleased to have been able to support her through the
opportunities on offer at Northumbria, as she works towards the fulfilment of
her ambitions.”
Northumbria University is home to the largest law school in
the North East of England. Multi award winning, it received the highly
prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for the outstanding work of its Student
Law Office – the largest University Law Clinic in the UK.
It is also one of only six institutions outside of London to
provide the Bar Professional Training Course and won the prestigious ‘Best Law
School’ accolade at the Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards a record
three times.
