Two budding lawyers have each won the chance of a lifetime opportunity - a free place to study law, as part of a pioneering competition to promote social mobility and diversity within the legal sector.

David John from Camden School Sixth Form and Nazifa Maher Chowdhury, from Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, are the well deserved winners of "YOUR BREAK in the law" competition - a programme that was launched this summer in partnership with four leading organisations - Barclays Bank plc; BLD; law firm Reed Smith and BPP University College.

The partnership was devised with the aim of giving talented A-level students from "non traditional" and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds a step into a profession that can be perceived as prohibitively expensive and difficult to enter into.

In recognition of this, both David and Nazifa will not only receive a free place at BPP Law School, worth nearly £10,000, but also some work experience and mentoring from a global leading law firm and FT-SE 100 global financial services provider. Senior employees at Reed Smith will provide mentoring and work experience including practical support and advice around what it is like to work in legal practice; the route to becoming a lawyer, and soft skills such as CV presentation. Barclays will also provide two weeks' invaluable work experience within the inhouse Legal function at its global headquarters at Canary Wharf. The placement will provide a unique insight into the role of internal Legal Counsel, and allow the students to understand the many and varied challenges and opportunities involved.

Following this, they will start their studies at BPP, which recently became a university college in 2011.

The delighted winners and their parents have been invited to attend a special evening event organised by BLD on 7 October as part of Black History Month.

The competition, open to a number of London schools, comprised three rounds with the highest scorers of each proceeding to the next stage. Over 100 entrants were tested on grammar, comprehension and a case analysis, which culminated in eight finalists taking part in a practice court debate, known as a Moot.

Peter Crisp, Chief Executive of BPP Law School said:

"Often it is not just the expense but the connections and support that can be a barrier to entry to a career in law. That's why this scholarship competition is so important - it addresses the issues of diversity and social mobility in the legal profession - something that we are very much committed to."

Judith Shepherd, General Counsel, Barclays Capital and Chair of the Group Legal and Compliance Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee, said:

"We're committed to empowering young people to build the best possible future for themselves. We believe the best way to achieve this is by providing practical support. The Barclays work experience and mentoring element of the competition will add to the students' CVs and enable them to develop commercial acumen and self-belief, giving them every chance of success on graduation. The YOUR BREAK in the law competition is a great example of our approach."

Debo Nwauzu, BLD Founder and Chair, said:

"BLD is fundamentally committed to highlighting and promoting diversity in law and we are therefore proud to be involved in this pioneering competition which provides such an excellent and comprehensive launch pad for success for disadvantaged aspiring lawyers from black and ethnic minority background"

Sakil Suleman, Partner and Chair, Reed Smith UK Diversity Committee, said:

"We see diversity as a key driver to the quality of our people and the service we offer to clients. Initiatives like this really help to open up access to the profession to quality candidates who are otherwise often overlooked or don't even think of a legal career as being a viable option. Through our participation, we are keen to ensure that participants get a good insight of life at a large international law firm and also have some fun in the process."

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Media enquiries, and photograph requests to:

BPP
Christine O'Grady
0207 633 4418
07909 117962
christineo'grady@bpp.com

Mallory Dees
BPP Press Office
Tel 0207 633 4542
mallorydees@bpp.com

Barclays
Gemma Walmsley
Media Relations
Barclays Group Corporate Affairs
T: +44 (0)207 116 6586
E: gemma.walmsley@barclays.com

BLD
Debo Nwauzu
0845 601 8339
07713 987 833

Reed Smith
Jeyda Star
PR Manager EME
+44 (0)20 3116 2571
jstar@reedsmith.com

Notes to editors

Competition rounds
Each round took place at one of BPP's Law School centres in central London on the following dates:

19th July Round One (aptitude test)
12th August Round Two (case analysis test)
25th August Round Three (moot)

Competition Eligibility for entrants
-Year 12 student, with excellent A-Level (or equivalent) potential (eg. predicted grade A's and B's).
-Demonstration of a commitment to a career in law.
-From a "non-traditional" background (i.e. first in family to progress to higher education) and a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) background.
-Likely to experience financial barriers to entry to higher education.

About BPP
BPP is a leading European private education and training provider in the fields of business, law, finance, tax and accountancy. BPP University College of Professional Studies has over 6,500 students at its UK law and business schools, and trains over 30,000 accountants. Its programmes cover undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, MBAs, short courses, summer schools, training and ongoing development for professionals. As well as its main city schools in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, it has regional centres across the UK, and offers a range of flexible study options - including full and part-time programmes, accelerated courses, online and distance learning. Many Law firms send their trainees to BPP Law School on an exclusive basis. In 2007, BPP College was granted degree awarding powers by the Privy Council, and in 2010 was granted the University College title, becoming BPP University College of Professional Studies Ltd. BPP became part of the Apollo Group in 2009. Visit BPP at http://www.bpp.com.

About Barclays
Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs nearly 147,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for 48 million customers and clients worldwide.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.

About BLD

BLD was founded in 2006 with the fundamental aim to highlight, promote and champion diversity within the legal profession and to raise aspirations, empower and create a dynamic forum of information and network opportunities.

BLD strives to achieve its aims by many means, including:

• Its community-driven national Legal Gateway Scheme, targeting underprivileged youngsters with aspirations to become lawyers. The scheme includes the Today's Children, Tomorrow's Lawyers (TCTL) programme, aimed at 14-to-17-year-olds. The programme provides youngsters with an insight into the legal profession, including Open Day visits to a major bank, a prestigious law school and top law firms, as well as work experience, career workshops and an inter-school debate competition.
• The other major programme within the Legal Gateway Scheme is the Legal Launch Pad (LLP) programme, aimed at those aged 18 and over who are either at university, have graduated or are pursuing postgraduate education. The LLP programme is unique in its duration, which is for nine months (from January-September) and content, covering training sessions in London, Birmingham and Manchester, work experience in major law firms and each successful candidate is also allocated a mentor for the minimum duration of the programme.
• Publication of the annual ground-breaking Black Letter Law publication, which showcases the achievement of BMEs in the legal profession - from partners at the top UK 100 law firms, General Counsels and Professors of Law, to judges and Queen's Counsels (QCs).
• Regular networking, training and other social events
• Wealth of information, including career guidance and advice
• Membership with a host of benefits

About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global law firm with nearly 1,600 lawyers in 22 offices throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
For further information please visit www.reedsmith.com