Budding barrister looking for support with funding - The Leamington Observer

Budding barrister looking for support with funding

Leamington Editorial 2nd Jun, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

MOST 22-year-olds would want to avoid getting grey hair, but for one budding barrister it can’t come quickly enough.

Former Myton School student Ashley Collins has spent the last five years training to become a barrister.

After the 22-year-old completed her masters degree at Leiden University in the Netherlands she returned home with huge debts having taken out a loan to cover the costs of her education.

She now works as a court officer at Warwick Crown Court to help pay off some of the money.




Ashley, who lives in Warwick with her parents, said: “After finishing my degree last year I came back with very little money.

“And having taken out a loan to pay for it, I had to find funds to make the repayments. So I combined getting some vital experience at court with earning money and saving up for my training course, which I need before I can become a barrister.”


To reach her dream of being ‘called to the bar’, Ashley must find the £17,000 needed to pay the course fees.

She has secured some funding from law firms and charities, but still needs to find an extra £4,000 and is now calling on local residents to help.

The budding barrister, who credits Warwick judge Sylvia de Bertodano as her inspiration, said: “Where I source the money to support myself on the Bar Professional Training Course – which lasts for one year – has become a dilemma.

“Cuts to public funding mean there are fewer job opportunities at the bar than ever before and there is not enough scholarship money to go around to pay the course fees for students.

“In order to help me achieve my ambitions of wearing a horsehair wig and black gown I desperately need further sponsorship, no matter how small.”

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