Law student wins Queen Mother Scholarship

University of Portsmouth law student Francis Payne has been awarded the highly coveted Queen Mother’s Scholarship.

Law student Francis Payne

The scholarship provides financial assistance to students wanting to study for the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). It is the most prestigious award from The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court, and is only given to a few outstanding candidates nationally each year.

He will use the scholarship to pay most of the £16,000 fees for his Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), which he will study next year at the City Law School in London.

Francis said: “Being awarded the scholarship is fantastic. Not only will it help financially, but it has given me confidence in my ability to follow my chosen career, and could help me get a pupillage after my BPTC.”

Francis, 20, was awarded the scholarship after impressing an interview panel of judges made up of senior members of the legal profession.

Bernard Davis, senior lecturer in the School of Law, said: “Students from the School of Law have won scholarships previously, but the Queen Mother’s Scholarship is a real mark of distinction, highly sought after and keenly contested in a ferociously competitive environment.

“That Francis impressed some very senior lawyers in his interview is a testament to his quality.”

Francis will attend a scholarship dinner in June at Middle Temple, as the guest of a member of the Inn.