I completed the BVC at Nottingham Law School in June 2008 and commenced pupillage at Ropewalk Chambers in October of that year, becoming a tenant in October 2009.

Pupillage at Ropewalk is extremely well-organised.  Each pupil is assigned a main Supervisor with whom he or she spends approximately 6 months throughout the year.  The remainder of the time is spent with a number of temporary supervisors.  In total, I spent time with 7 barristers during pupillage, seeing a huge variety of types of work and working methods.
 
The types of work I saw whilst with my supervisor included personal injury, landlord and tenant, commercial, planning and environmental.  I saw my supervisor undertake work in the County Court, the High Court, and the Technology and Construction Court, and was also extremely fortunate to see a senior member of Chambers conducting an appeal at the House of Lords.
 
Ropewalk has a system of formally recording feedback on all paperwork produced as well as more general feedback from each supervisor.  It can be disconcerting to see yourself criticised in written documents that you know are going to be more widely circulated, but it is far better that pupils are told in clear and certain terms what aspects of their work need improving so that they can address those concerns as the pupillage progresses.
 
The start of pupillage was for me quite a challenge as my supervisor has quite an eclectic practice and I felt that I was delving into a new and relatively obscure area of law for each piece of work he asked me to do.  However, whilst that was demanding, it was also an excellent grounding for practice in the "real world", as being able to rapidly turn your mind to a new area of law is an essential skill of a working barrister.
 
Towards the end of the 1st six, I had the opportunity to attend court for a week or so with several of the junior tenants - this was invaluable as it gave me a feel for what I might expect during the 2nd six and took some of the fear associated with the unknown out of the transition.
 
The 2nd six represented a step up in workload.  I was in court 3 days per week but was also expected to do paperwork for the supervisor at the time, as well as attend court with him/her if not in court myself.  However, going to court on my own was enormous fun and a welcome relief from the feeling (whether justified or not!) of being constantly scrutinised whilst with members of Chambers.
 
The main types of court work you can expect in the 2nd six are infant approval hearings, small claim trials, interim applications and case management conferences.  Nottingham is geographically in the centre of England and therefore Ropewalk barristers can and do travel anywhere in England and Wales for their work.  Occasionally therefore, early starts are needed, although often the work is more local - there are a large number of courts within an hour's drive of Nottingham.
 
One of the impressive features of Ropewalk is the availability of help if needed.  On a number of occasions things happened at court which I wanted to discuss with someone more experienced.  I never failed to find someone at the end of the phone who was willing to give me good advice, and on the odd occasion that a junior was not available a more senior member of chambers was always willing to help.
 
In conclusion, I would say that pupillage at Ropewalk is challenging and rewarding in equal measure.  I personally feel I have had an excellent grounding for developing my career as a tenant.