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There is widely acknowledged concern at the shallowness of the pool of entrants to the legal profession. The CSET Summer School demonstrates an altruistic commitment to tackle the problem in an imaginative and distinctive manner which draws on a collective strength not available to firms acting individually. A lot of work is being done to widen access to the legal profession, but this is concentrated on schools. Such work is exemplified by the pioneering work of the Sutton Trust, www.suttontrust.com which was particularly helpful in relation to the development of the CSET Summer School. Little of this widening access work relates to university students, especially those who are at non-Russell Group universities with no family experience of university education. Typically this group will lack certain knowledge and skills which some of their peers take for granted, inhibiting even the brightest of them from realising their full potential. The CSET Summer School helps this group, identifying the most talented amongst them by a rigorous selection process, providing those identified with a residential course to help them to acquire the missing knowledge and skills and then keeping in touch with them thereafter. CSET has contracted with Group GTI www.groupgti.com to provide all aspects of the CSET Summer School. To ensure an adequate number of applications – the aim for 2008 was to select 100 from 1000 – CSET drives a vigorous and sustained marketing campaign designed to seek out applications. |
The selection process comprises completion of a bespoke on-line application form, followed by additional assessment leading to offers to the successful applicants; funding will be available to ensure that applicants otherwise qualified are not deterred by the cost. The first CSET Summer School in July 2008 was a residential course for one week, based at Imperial College, London. There was a full and varied programme with guest speakers and a mixture of individual and group work, with a particular emphasis on the intellectual rigour required of successful lawyers. It is intended that after the CSET Summer School participants will have continuing access to information and advice and alumni events, with some invited to participate as alumni in subsequent summer schools. The commitment from the original sponsors was that one CSET Summer School would run in 2008, 2009 and 2010, the minimum sensible period to enable its effectiveness to be assessed. Given the great enthusiasm shown for the CSET Summer School both by actual and potential sponsors and by the academic community and its demonstrable success, it has been possible to open an additional school in 2011. |
