Careers and UCAS

Daniel Lett (OB, Peele A, 1928-1933) was called to the Bar by Middle Temple seventeen years after leaving Christ’s Hospital. In 1979, having spent the majority of his life in the Caribbean, he contacted the school regarding his intention to leave a bequest to allow Old Blues to follow a career at the Bar. Mr Lett died in 2004, and his bequest created an endowment – his wishes are now the Daniel Lett Fund. 

Today, current students of Christ’s Hospital can apply for assistance through the Daniel Lett Fund for expenses incurred while exploring a legal career or vocation at the Bar, either through work experience, university visits, or a mini-pupillage. 

The Fund also supports Old Blues in their studies to become a Barrister. Andre de Silva Jenkins, OB and former Senior Grecian  has been a recipient of grants from the Fund and is currently pursuing a career at the Bar. 

As a beneficiary of the Daniel Lett Fund, I have been able to pursue a career as a barrister which likely would not have otherwise been available to me. The Fund, as I will explain below, has done more than merely support me throughout my time at law school – it has truly enabled and facilitated it altogether.

Having studied a degree in Politics at University College London, I came to learn that I would need to undertake the Graduate Diploma in Law (i.e., the law conversion course) and subsequently the Bar Course in order to qualify as a barrister. Both courses are ordinarily one year long and need to be either completed or underway before applying to join a Chambers by way of a pupillage. Each course is however quite expensive, and in my case has amounted to an overall cost of approximately £30,000. Student finance is not available for both courses one after the other and Chambers do not generally cover these fees for aspiring barristers. I would suggest that the costs might be one of the greatest barriers to entry and have contributed to the (not uncommon) impression that the Bar is inaccessible to someone from my background – a single-parent working class family. 

However, I was extremely fortunate that my potential anxieties around funding never materialised, and this was chiefly because of assistance from the Daniel Lett Fund. In my final year at UCL I made an application to the Daniel Lett Fund for financial assistance with the conversion course, and was invited to not only apply for help with the course fees but for a maintenance grant too. After the application process, I was informed that I was successful and this allowed me to accept an offer to begin the conversion at The City Law School, and moreover to rent a flat in London to facilitate my studies. 

The assistance from the Fund has had a genuinely profound impact on me – it permitted my pursuit of my dream job (excuse the cliché) and relieved me of any related financial stress. The generosity of the Daniel Lett Fund is therefore, in my view, a paradigmatic example of CH’s support of Old Blues, and is support for which I will always remain appreciative.

-Andre de Silva Jenkins

Grants are available for Old Blues seeking to pursue a study towards a career at the Bar. Applicants must be former or current students of Christ’s Hospital, having successfully completed GCSE or A level qualifications at the School. Applicants must confirm that they meet the ‘fit and proper person to become a practising barrister’ test set out in the Bar Training Regulations. Applicants should expect to enter into an agreement to repay the Grant in the event that they do not complete the course of study for which an award is made.  

Any Old Blues interested in making an application for a grant from this Fund should contact Jo Synnott at JMS@christs-hospital.org.uk for more information and to receive the application forms. Applications are considered by Craig Donoghue (Assistant Head – Digital and Innovation) in conjunction with the Daniel Lett Fund advisory committee formed of experienced Barristers and Old Blues.