We are delighted to share the good news, that our student George Skinner has been awarded an Exhibition Scholarship by the Inner Temple, which will fund his fees for Bar Training next year. George completed his undergraduate LLB here at the University of Reading, and his currently finishing off his LLM with us at the School of Law. George has explained what the award is, and what it means to him:

What is the award?

“After applying through an online application, which included providing references, and being interviewed by a panel of four members of Inner Temple, I received an Exhibition Scholarship to cover my fees for the Bar Course.

This scholarship is something that I never expected to achieve, as it is consistently very competitive. However, I was completely taken aback and overwhelmed when I received news that I had been granted an Exhibition Scholarship, because this meant that not only were my very expensive Bar Course fees covered, but also there was some extra funds on top to help with other matters. My dream of becoming a barrister was coming true, as Inner Temple had felt confident enough in my abilities to provide me with this amazing opportunity. The next step for me now is to complete the Bar Course in London and then, hopefully, progress to becoming a barrister after securing pupillage.”

How has Reading helped me? 

“I genuinely believe that I could not have achieved half the things I have done in my time at Reading, if I had gone anywhere else. Reading has provided me with so many fantastic and engaging opportunities, which has not only allowed me to become more academically capable, but also has allowed me to become a more confident and driven person generally.

From the first day of my undergraduate Law degree, I was determined to make the most of the University and the variety of opportunities on offer. Despite this determination, I never expected to be so involved in Mooting, the Law Society and even contemplate, let alone complete, a Masters in Law.

Mooting:

In my first year, I found that mooting was my opportunity to meet so many new people and really understand what the law school is like. Looking back on my early mooting days, I feel as though I have really come a long way, something I am so proud of. I went on to win the Osborne Clarke Mooting competition in my first year and be involved in a variety of different external mooting competitions, and represented the University of Reading in the prestigious BPP Advocate of the Year competition. The final of the Osborne Clarke Mooting competition was definitely my first year highlight. I remember being so nervous to present in the Supreme Court in front of Lord Reed, but I honestly thoroughly enjoyed every second of the experience. Advocacy was the next step for me after this, which present a new but exciting challenge. Witness handling is something that I never thought I would have the opportunity to do during an undergraduate degree, which made the experience all the more fulfilling.

Law Society:

Following on from this involvement in Mooting, I then became heavily involved with the Law Society. I found this involvement was so key to my development at the University of Reading; it made me a more confident and focused individual. Eventually, I was elected Vice President of the Law Society in my final year, something which I am very proud of. The opportunity helped me make friends for life and gave me a lot of responsibility in the wide-range of events that the society ran throughout the year.

Despite all the hard work that I had put in to these opportunities, none of them would have been possible without the immensely supportive and approachable staff at the Law School. Everyone who I have had the pleasure to have come into contact with has been more than prepared to help me in my endeavours and this is something that I do not take for granted. The support I have received at the University of Reading is something that I will never forget and feel forever indebted for.”

We are thrilled to celebrate George’s success and hope that he will inspire other aspiring barristers. We are very proud of his success and look forward to seeing where this takes him in his career.