£1.6k rise as bar hopefuls pay more upfront
The Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) has confirmed a £1,650 fee increase for new Bar Course students from September 2027, alongside a shake-up of its payment structure that will see aspiring barristers pay significantly more upfront.
Legal Cheek reported last month that the ICCA was considering the changes, which have now been confirmed on the provider’s website.
Funded by the Council of the Inns of Court since its launch in September 2020, the ICCA has long positioned itself as a lower-cost, not-for-profit alternative to other Bar Course providers.
For the 2026-27 academic year, students were charged £16,600 for the two-part course, making the ICCA one of the cheapest Bar Course providers. The £1,650 increase will bring total fees to £18,250, putting the course roughly in line with offerings from other major providers in the capital. The ICCA is notable for having the highest overall pass rate of Bar Course providers: a 90% average pass rate for the litigation exams, compared with a market average of 55%.
The fee hike will also be accompanied by a significant increase in the amount students must pay upfront.
One of the ICCA’s major innovations was its two-part Bar Course structure and 25:75 fee split. Part One, comprising three months of fully virtual, self-directed study of civil and criminal litigation, was priced at £4,150. Part Two, taught in person at the Inns of Court and focusing on practical skills such as drafting, advocacy and conferencing, carried a heftier price tag of £12,450.
The split was designed to provide “less financial commitment upfront”, according to Derek Wood KC, Chair of the ICCA Governors, who commented on the structure in 2019 ahead of the provider’s launch.
Under the new 50:50 fee split, students starting the course from September 2027 will be required to pay £9,125 for each part, more than doubling the upfront cost of Part One.
Commenting on the changes, Lynda Gibbs KC, Dean of the ICCA, said:
The ICCA’s Bar Course fee structure enables flexibility for students within designated pathways, and offers the ability to split the course and the fees. The ICCA’s very high pass rates clearly demonstrate the success of this model.
The decision to increase fees and move to a 50/50 split is to ensure the current course, and its flexible structure, and high quality, is sustainably funded for long-term delivery. The fee split reflects that the ICCA students are given the opportunity to undertake one part of the course at a time, and only pay for that part.
Yoink!
Shame. Rampant commercialism kills an idealistic start. I wonder how they’ll now fare with no scholarships or LLM option for a Master’s loan?
Watch the other BTC providers pounce! Possibly the craziest decision ever, especially from the Inns. They should know better. Shame on them.
Welcome to the bean counters! Will go elsewhere.
Let them eat cake!
Experience comes from making bad decisions (Mark Twain). This is going to be one hell of an experience!
Wonder how much of that increase is being used to fund the salaries of the Dean and other senior leaders
Hasn’t this happened before when fees go up? Maybe scrap the Inns and set up in Peckham! https://www.legalcheek.com/2014/05/why-peckham-would-be-the-ideal-location-for-a-law-school/
I went to ICCA … because it was cheap. It’s just a Bar Course like any other, not awful, not great. Go elsewhere and get a discount – there are loads of discounts!
Premium results at average prices. Pass rate is 35% higher than the next top bar course provider but fees have now moved to be on par with other courses? Sounds like a bargain.
Great point Dean
Months after they recruit their first finance director fees go up. Surprise!
All a bit sad really
ICCA seems to get high pass rates but is this because they only take the “best” students. Not so sure I would pay £9125 for an isolated online course then the same again for a 4 month in person course. For the same money you can get taught by real people for 9 months. Must be missing something, i just don’t get it
ICCA pass rate is massively higher than other providers. More than can be explained away by just taking good students. It’s not like there aren’t other prestigious bar course providers also taking top students.
The obvious answer is that something about the teaching or structure of the course helps students succeed.
Babe, it’s literally an exclusive admissions filter doing heavy lifting while dressed up as a ‘pedagogical breakthrough.’ But go off, I guess!
charging down-payment money for a virtual classroom password is truly unhinged. I’ll be in the corner manifesting a rich long-lost relative if anyone needs me.
“I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now!”
“The ICCA’s Bar Course fee structure enables flexibility” says the Dean. I agree. If Part One was previous priced at £4,150 and it’s now £9,125, that is genuine flexibility.
Surge pricing? May go back down then … 😉
Dean also says there’s the “ability to split the course and the fees” – might just take the course and not the fees part!
Brilliant move by the ICCA. By doubling the upfront fee, they are effectively screening out anyone who doesn’t have a trust fund or a grandfather who was a Lord Justice of Appeal. It’s called streamlining efficiency, look it up. Social mobility was getting a bit crowded anyway.
Back in my dad’s day, a Bar course cost three pence, a pint of mild, and a firm handshake with the Treasurer of Gray’s Inn. Now you need to remortgage your parents’ semi-detached in Essex just to learn how to draft a statement of case that will be ignored by a District Judge in Croydon. Progress!
Very demure, very mindful, very… charging us an extra grand for the exact same syllabus. Real classy.