Applications for the Helen Grindrod Social Mobility Prize 2026 are now open
The Helen Grindrod Social Mobility Prize is aimed at second year undergraduate law students and seeks to improve access to the profession for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The prize includes a monetary grant of £250 and mentoring opportunities.
Our aim is to award at least 50% of the places to applicants of Black or mixed Black heritage.
The Bar Council’s Race at the Bar Report shows that applicants for pupillage of Black heritage do proportionately less well in obtaining pupillage than white applicants. The report also highlights that black barristers disproportionately practise in lower paying areas of the Bar. Therefore, we have identified that those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who are also of Black heritage face additional barriers to joining the profession.
The aim of the prize is to improve access to the profession and to support high achieving students by providing experiences and opportunities and help them make informed choices about their career at the Bar.
Eight prizes will be awarded, and the winners will receive:
- A monetary prize of £250 per winner
- A place at our Prize Winners’ Summer School, which includes networking and educational opportunities
- Free membership of the Inn
- A mini-pupillage, with funding from the Inn’s Mini-Pupillage Grant Scheme
Watch the below video to see what the attendees of our 2025 Outreach Prize Winners’ Summer School got up to.
Applications close on Friday 8 May at 16:00. Apply now.