TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Kirsty Wilkins]

Hi Kirsty,

I submitted my application form recently and the GCSE section asked for the school name and the dates I attended. There was no space to include my GCSE subjects and/or results. Will this have an impact on my application?​

Hi @Harvey Specter

If you would like to message me privately with the name your application was submitted in I'll take a look at that for you as all the applications I've been reading have GCSE grades inputted, so I just want to ensure there's not something wrong in the system for one or two people. However no, missing GCSE results will not have an impact on your application.

Thanks,

Kirsty

 

[CharlesT47]

Hi @Harvey Specter

If you would like to message me privately with the name your application was submitted in I'll take a look at that for you as all the applications I've been reading have GCSE grades inputted, so I just want to ensure there's not something wrong in the system for one or two people. However no, missing GCSE results will not have an impact on your application.

Thanks,

Kirsty

Hi Kirsty,

I've had the same issue as Harvey Specter here. I've just looked at my form and there was no option for me to input my GCSE grades. There was only an option to list which school I went to for GCSEs. Could I PM you as well?

Best,
Charles

 

[msclm]

Invited to the travers smith recruitment day (post partner interview)! 😀

 

[user55998384]

Invited to the travers smith recruitment day (post partner interview)! 😀

congrats !!! is this for DTC?

 

[Someoneinlaw]

Invited to the travers smith recruitment day (post partner interview)! 😀

Congrats! do you mean AC? Also, when did you apply?

Invited to the travers smith recruitment day (post partner interview)! 😀

 

[msclm]

congrats !!! is this for DTC?

Yep

 

[msclm]

Congrats! do you mean AC? Also, when did you apply?

Yeah I think it’s their version of the AC, but they call it recruitment day lol

 

[zonnonomo]

hopped on two games of valorant before attempting an arctic shore and scored 20/20 ✍️

 

[DavidJC]

Can anyone please share how long FF stage 2 took them to complete?

 

[Amgrad]

hopped on two games of valorant before attempting an arctic shore and scored 20/20 ✍️

I did it after losing streak in a MOBA game, definitely my mental and stressed went down after that. I did awfully half yours.

 

[Kirsty Wilkins]

Hi Kirsty,

I've had the same issue as Harvey Specter here. I've just looked at my form and there was no option for me to input my GCSE grades. There was only an option to list which school I went to for GCSEs. Could I PM you as well?

Best,
Charles

Hi @CharlesT47

Thanks for letting me know, and yes, absolutely.

Thanks,

Kirsty

 

[BillSikes]

Anyone know the dates of Simmons ACs?

 

[user55998384]

Anyone know the dates of Simmons ACs?

do you have an ac offer?

 

[TheSlapDotCom]

has anyone heard from bclp for summer vs after completing the online assessment?

 

[gao8899]

Hello!

For Q4, you don’t necessarily need a separate example of each skill. With only 200 words, it might be more effective to identify 2-3 key skills / qualities and then use one strong example that demonstrates all of them in action. This allows the graduate recruitment team to see how your skills interact in a real situation, rather than a list of disconnected mini-stories.

For the “next generation of lawyers” part, it helps you frame your answers around qualities that reflect how the legal industry is evolving. Things such as adaptability, commercial awareness, tech-literacy, cross-team collaboration, or the ability to learn quickly tend to resonate as firms are thinking about the future of the profession, not just what lawyers needed 10 years ago.

A good structure to follow could be:

1. Briefly identify the skills you think matter for future lawyers
2. Explain why they matter in the modern legal landscape (with reference to changes in the legal market / profession)
3. Give one concise example of when you have demonstrated those skills

This keeps it clear, focused, and (hopefully!) within the word limit. I hope that helps!

Thank you! This is so helpful

 

[deejaykay]

That Mishcon chat-based interview though 🙃

 

[s123]

Have all Simmons ACs sent out?

 

[InterestInPublicLaw]

Not done the Gowling one, just the NRF one and a couple other non-law ones in the past.

I would try and make sure you're in a really calm and relaxed environment (difficult with a test, I know!) and really get focussed, especially for the middle two games. These tests are geared towards directly testing your soft skills and the NRF one, from what I understood about the test, in order of games, tested your pattern recognition/problem-solving, attention to detail/focus/ability to perform under pressure (both games in the middle test this in similar but different ways), and emotional intelligence on the basis of recognition of facial cues (I honestly think this one is quite bs but you can find ways of "practising" by looking up facial expressions for different emotions).

Hope this helps, I've never used any practice tests for these so can't recommend any of those, I'm afraid.

Thank you! What's going on with the Directions game ☠️

 

[InterestInPublicLaw]

That Mishcon chat-based interview though 🙃

Hello, I'm wondering if we have 7 days to complete the test after the application so we don't have to complete it before 28/11?

 

[johnsmith]

If anyone didn’t get involved this year I’d really recommend participating in the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness competition - there was a phenomenal room of finalists to meet and learn from and the AS team are so slick in how they run it and support everyone.

At least one winner is on TCLA as well 💪 (not me!)