I first had the idea for this site about a year ago. Building a website is something I'd always wanted to do, so watching it grow into what it is today has been deeply rewarding. Over that time I've gathered your feedback on PupillagePulse: how you've found the site, the features you'd like to see, and the bugs I still need to fix. This article sets out what's changed, and where I want to take the site over the coming months.
A new visual style
Out with the old, in with the new. Parting with the cyan-and-white branding was bittersweet; it was, for want of a better word, friendly and reassuring. (A fun aside: Soviet cockpits were often painted teal, in the belief that the colour had a calming effect, and little is more stressful than pupillage season.) Even so, I wanted the site to feel more serious, closer to a chambers' own website. We've moved to a palette of navy, cream and gold, with a sleeker interface throughout. As you may already have noticed, that extends to the articles themselves, which are now rather more engaging to look at. Do admire the spinning cube.
Easier navigation and individual chambers pages
Beyond the branding, I've made the site easier to get around, so you can find the information you need more reliably. That includes the much-requested return of individual chambers pages, which in time will be populated with the detail you'll want when putting a pupillage application together. I have also (by popular demand) separated each chamber from it's annexe, so there is less confusion as to where a report is being issued for.
Beyond pupillage season: building your CV
With pupillage season behind us, many of us find ourselves back in the inter-application doldrums. That doesn't mean your professional development has to stall. Far from it: now is the ideal time to start building your CV towards next year's applications. To that end, the site has new tools, with more to come, designed to highlight upcoming opportunities. The first of these is a mini-pupillage tracker, more comprehensive than anything else I've come across.
PupillagePulse Research
A recurring theme in the feedback was that the articles I'd been publishing weren't especially useful. That's a fair criticism. Most of the material was academic, intended to show how the platform could be used to put research out into the world; practical pupillage tips remained thin on the ground. Rather than abandon the academic commentary altogether, I'll aim to produce more that genuinely helps people at every stage of the pupillage journey. I'm also keenly aware that this site gives me a platform, and with it a responsibility to advocate more forcefully on behalf of the prospective barrister. Time permitting, I intend to publish work on three questions:
- Whether the current pupillage system is due for reform;
- The impact of this year's truncated application period, and
- The extent of any Oxbridge bias in the selection of pupils.
I can't do this alone. If you'd be interested in contributing over the coming months, please don't hesitate to reach out via LinkedIn
Right, that's it from me. I hope you enjoy the changes made (and still being made) to the site, and wish you all the very best for the week.