Some students choose to sit their vocational Bar training exams in their home country. Generally, these are students who are resitting their exams and have therefore left the UK at the end of their course. We ceased to permit the use of online delivery platforms by Bar training providers in May 2023, so these assessments are sat in person, in assessment centres, typically those run by the British Council.
Due to the current state of civil unrest in Bangladesh, all British Council offices there closed temporarily. As there is continuing unrest in the country, we are closely monitoring the situation for candidates intending to sit the centralised exams on Monday 19, Wednesday 21 and Friday 23 August in either Dhaka or Chittagong. We intend to make an announcement about this on Monday 12 August. If the exams cannot proceed, the next available examination session for students affected by this suspension is likely to be December 2024.
Some students were also due to take resits in Bangladesh for some of their provider-set exams in August, and they will also be affected by this situation. We are continuing to monitor the situation in conjunction with the five Bar training providers who have students currently located in Bangladesh. Bar training providers are in contact with the affected students about what this means for them and what alternative arrangements are available to them. Students who are affected should contact their course providers through the usual channels, where possible, if they have any questions.
