Please help me fund bar school

Hello, I am Kay: a child of the state. I am a care leaver who would like to practise law as a barrister. It is a very challenging journey to qualify and definitely not cheap!

I have been fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship but that only covers fees, and in order to begin in 2023, I would like to raise some funds so I do not have to work multiple part time jobs throughout my studies again.

The bar course is intensive, and I would like to focus fully on my studies instead of worrying about how I'll survive. I am very capable, I am always willing to learn/ adapt and acquire the skills required to proceed. I would be very grateful for any support and I hope to encourage and support other kids in care to pursue law - particularly to the Bar and perhaps even the Judiciary...! Barriers to access and opportunity still remain very stark.

(74% of judges in England & Wales are privately educated, yet only 7% of the wider population are - and most judges come from the Bar. Most are excellent but these are the people who make life-changing decisions for people of my background, where a huge number of care leavers disproportionately enter the justice system. There must be a balance and we must speak about it to raise awareness and then improve it.)

Representation is incredibly important for wider social mobility and I would love to see the societal perception of care leavers to be a positive one. From age 16, sadly, there is a cliff edge, and financial barriers are just one part of the barriers to entry into employment and/or education. I have been homeless and sofa-surfed, worrying how to survive, scared to the depths of despair, but I am now ready to build a career/ life for myself.

At the latter end of 2014, I had quite a bad accident that resulted in a skull fracture and brain haemorrhage. I had to learn to walk again, with neuro-physio over two years and became deaf in my left ear, amongst other things. I'm lucky to have mostly recovered well but studying again required using very rusty muscle memory and adapting to my new cognitive skills in a different way. I will however make it work, and I am determined to see this path through.

I have always wanted to be a lawyer and did not pursue it earlier as I truly did not think it was for someone like me. More than anything - I'd like to prove myself wrong!

Many thanks for reading,

Kay

p.s. For those who have donated - if you would like to keep in touch or ask about progress, feel free to email me at [email redacted]