Anyhow I've just realised I failed to answer your question. The answer is
1. Undergraduate degree - 3 years
2. Postgraduate degree - 1 year - certainly not essential but it's an option and gives you an extra feather in your cap
3. Law conversion course - 1 year - not neccesary if you've done a Law degree
4. Bar School - 1 year
5. Pupillage - 1 year - an apprenticeship at a barristers' chambers
6. Get a tenancy - ie you get taken on permanently by a barristers' chambers (most likely the place where you did pupillage).
So it's a minimum of 5 years from school to being a fully-fledged barrister. I took a bit longer because I took a year out before Uni (went to the cricket world cup in Australia!) and did a one-year postgraduate degree.
1. Undergraduate degree - 3 years
2. Postgraduate degree - 1 year - certainly not essential but it's an option and gives you an extra feather in your cap
3. Law conversion course - 1 year - not neccesary if you've done a Law degree
4. Bar School - 1 year
5. Pupillage - 1 year - an apprenticeship at a barristers' chambers
6. Get a tenancy - ie you get taken on permanently by a barristers' chambers (most likely the place where you did pupillage).
So it's a minimum of 5 years from school to being a fully-fledged barrister. I took a bit longer because I took a year out before Uni (went to the cricket world cup in Australia!) and did a one-year postgraduate degree.