BPP ups cost of legal courses for 2012 starters
BPP Law School has hiked the fees for its Legal Practice Course (LPC) and Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) by five per cent for September 2012.
Peter Crisp
Aspiring lawyers will have to pay up to £13,550 and £16,540 respectively for the LPC and BPTC in London. Currently the fees are £12,900 and £15,750.
The cost of studying the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) will also rise, up by £450 from £8,950 to £9,400.
BPP chief executive Peter Crisp said: “Since 2009, the fees for many of our law programmes have either been frozen or increased at a rate below inflation – for example our GDL and LPC fees have been held for two years.
“With a modest increase this year, overall the percentage increase in fees over the last three years has been small and in line with the current rate of inflation.”
The news follows the launch of BPP’s much-vaunted law loan in partnership with Investec. The five-year loan has a fixed interest rate of 9.5 per cent and annual percentage rate of 9.9 per cent, making the product much more expensive than other personal loans from high street lenders (6 July 2011).
Rival law school the College of Law will reveal its 2012 fees in January. Its LPC and BPTC fees currently cost a maximum of £12,550 and £15,375.
Kaplan Law School has also announced fee rises, although BPP remains the most expensive. Its LPC will cost £12,850 and its BPTC fee will be £15,800 for 2012 starters.
Meanwhile, City Law School, which charges £12,550 and £16,000 for the LPC and BPTC respectively, will announce 2012-13 figures early next year.
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Readers' comments (12)
Barratt | 30-Nov-2011 3:41 pm
How can BPP justify charging a grand more than any other provider for the LPC at a time when training contracts are so scarce! What changes have happened in the last year that can justify a rise in fees full stop! And if I take their 'brilliant' law loan and borrow 13550 (not to mention living costs) I will have to pay Investec 285 a month, and be charged 3 1/2 grand on top of the loan!! unbelievable - some lifeline!!
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Was_Lex | 30-Nov-2011 3:43 pm
I am actually speechless. Well I'm not, I'm actually swearing a fair bit. I've surprised myself with the inventive language I'm coming out with.
How long can this go on for?
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Anonymous | 1-Dec-2011 8:05 am
Well law colleges will continue to hike the prices as long as people are prepared to pay the prices.
Ultimately the price is determined by consumer.
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Anonymous | 1-Dec-2011 3:29 pm
The price shouldn't be determined by the Consumer. The Law Society should step in and set fixed (or certainly maximum) prices or provide guidance on charging students.
They do this for starting salaries for training contracts so why not the LPC? Afterall, 99.999% of those doing the LPC will want a training contract.
If the LPC costs close to £13k and a minimum training contract salary is a few thousand more, where is the immediate incentive?
So much for trying to make law and its practice available to all....
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Anonymous | 1-Dec-2011 4:34 pm
What an absolute joke!
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Anonymous | 1-Dec-2011 9:58 pm
And there goes all the effort of diversity out of the window. If the Law Society would really care about diversity and equal opportunities it certainly would either provide more funding or limit the abilities of LPC provider to do whatever they want.
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Anonymous | 2-Dec-2011 6:32 pm
The price is not determined by the consumer - the BPTC, in particular, is a product that people are compelled to buy by the regulator, regardless of its actual value, which is offered by an oligopoliy of four institutions that invariably charge similar or identical prices.
If new providers were able to enter the market and offer (say) a three month intensive course, at half the price, with a view to sitting the same exams, then prices would undoubtedly fall. This is precisely what is done in New York and it works well there.
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Anonymous | 3-Dec-2011 7:58 am
Why are people complaining?
Firms pay for the LPC not the students!
Students shouldn't be paying for the LPC anyway.
If there is a demand for new solicitors then firms will pay.
Students shouldn't be spending their money if there is no demand.
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Anonymous | 6-Dec-2011 12:36 pm
This is absurd. The price just cant represent value for money! Especially when other providers offer the same product for hundreds less!
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Anonymous | 7-Dec-2011 8:56 am
"Why are people complaining?
Firms pay for the LPC not the students!
Students shouldn't be paying for the LPC anyway.
If there is a demand for new solicitors then firms will pay.
Students shouldn't be spending their money if there is no demand"
And where in this article is the discussion limited to just the LPC? If you READ it you would see it covers the GDL and BPTC also...which "firms" do not pay for. Good grief...
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