Update: the Pupillage Gateway deadline has been extended, for a second time, to Thursday 9 May.
There was optimism last year when it was announced that error-prone pupillage application website ‘Pupillage Portal’ was to be replaced with ‘Pupillage Gateway’. But, with 24 hours to go til this year’s pupillage application deadline, wannabe barristers are facing the same old problems as the new site “refuses to load” and “repeatedly crashes”…
Having just spoken to the Bar Council, we understand that there is currently a meeting ongoing where an extension to tomorrow’s 11am pupillage application deadline is being considered. In the meantime, these angry wannabe barristers’ tweets convey the nature of the problems.
Using this website is like using a Dial up internet connection #pupillagegateway Epic fail BSB, epic!!
— KevKarue (@KevKarue) April 29, 2013
Pupillage gateway is still being ridiculously slow for the third day in a row! This is simply not good enough! #uselessness #failure
— Akwikwi (@Akwikwi) April 29, 2013
Pupillage Gateway is an absolute joke. It has been ‘logging in’ for the past hour.
— Kate Spence (@JaffaKate) April 29, 2013
#PupillageGateway has been inaccessible all day. What do I do? #stressed
— Menaal Munshey (@MenaalM) April 29, 2013
#PupillageGateway….you’re making Pupillage Portal look good. And that’s not good.
— AD Ball (@A_Ball001) April 29, 2013
Previously, the Bar Council has said that Pupillage Gateway “will provide significant enhancements to applicants and to those chambers which choose to recruit through an online application system.”
Upon Pupillage Gateway’s launch, Bar Council chair Michael Todd crowed: “We are delighted to be able to unveil Pupillage Gateway, which we believe will make it easier than ever before for applicants and chambers to manage and run a modern, online, pupillage recruitment process. The Bar Council has undertaken research to ensure that the Pupillage Gateway delivers what applicants and chambers need.”
Update 3:45pm – The Bar Council has extended the deadline for submission of pupillage applications via the Pupillage Gateway to 11am on Friday 3 May. See here for more details.
