A recent article, ‘EXCLUSIVE: BPTC Students Point Finger At Bar Standards Board Following ‘Disastrous’ And ‘Unfair’ Exams’, elicited over 40 comments from Bar students.
A BPTC student looking to make a complaint against the BSB considers his options.
Many of them were highly critical of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), which is responsible for appointing the members of the central examination board that set the aforementioned ‘disastrous’ and ‘unfair' exams.
Where can these students go to make a complaint against the BSB?
Well, there's the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), the statutory body set up in 2004 under the Higher Education Act to run an independent student complaints scheme.
There’s just one hitch...
The current Independent Adjudicator is Robert Behrens. That’s the same Robert Behrens who sits on the BSB.
Prior to Behrens, the Independent Adjudicator was none other than Baroness Ruth Deech, chair of the BSB.
So tread carefully when making those complaints about the BSB, Bar students.
A big thanks to Legal Cheek poster ‘Vincent’ for flagging up the close ties between the BSB and the OIA.
I don't think any BPTC Student can go to the OIA to complain about the BSB. From the way their website is worded and the list of Qualifying and Non-Qualifying Institutions it appears that they cannot investigate the BSB exams but can only consider complaints about the individual institutions (excluding BPP which doesn't look like it has signed itself up as an Institution).
I don't think its actually possible to go higher than the BSB in this matter. The Inns are seemingly subject to it and the Legal Services Board makes no provision for regulating the educational aspects of the SRA and BSB. The Providers can only huff and puff about things at best....at the end of the academic year they'll all be in the same boat regarding the BPTC marks and then its next years students paying the bills. Is anyone else any clearer on this?
P. 95 of 'THE BLUE BOOK' states:
"5.1.7 Where a case is referred to an Inn, the Inn will not attempt to go behind the findings of the Provider or the Office of the Independent Adjudicator [see http://www.oia.ac.uk."
P. 100 of 'THE BLUE BOOK' states:
"8.2.4 Advice can be provided by the BSB, who may also be notified by the student if a cause for complaint against a Provider arises. Such students are normally advised to follow the complaints procedure of the Institution. The highest authority is the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (www.oiahe.org.uk/)."
THE BLUE BOOK = Bar Professional Training Course: Course specification requirements and guidance - August 2011