All aspiring barristers will have to pass a £150 aptitude test from April this year, with the Bar Standards Board (BSB) yesterday (20 February) confirming its formal introduction following a lengthy consultation.

The Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) will now be a mandatory requirement for all students looking to qualify as a barrister, with students applying for the bar able to register for the BCAT from 1 March 2013, and take the test from 3 April 2013.

Students hoping to start the BPTC in 2013 will have until the end of July 2013 to pass the test.

At £150 for UK and EU students, the cost of the test is double the initially mooted price of around £70 – Legal Week reported in October that, while the price was still being debated it would be in between £50 and £100, probably £67. Overseas students will be charged £170.

The BSB has also drawn criticism for the fact that the test can be sat an unlimited number of times.

A mandatory entrance test was first considered to raise the standards of students joining the course, which has increased steadily since the monopoly of the Inns of Court School of Law in delivering the bar course ended.

A review group chaired by Derek Wood QC, which found that nearly half of BPTC students considered that the presence of weak students had affected their learning experience on the course.

During a two year pilot of the aptitude test, involving 1800 students, trials showed students with high BCAT scores were much more likely to pass the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) with a high grade, whereas lower scorers were more likely to fail.

BCAT does not test students' knowledge so it should not require studying for; however the BSB says practice questions will be available.

Baroness Ruth Deech (pictured), chair of the BSB, said: "Most students who fail the BPTC do so because they struggle with the critical thinking and reasoning required for practical elements of the course. Students role-play court room and client interactions and if someone on the course finds this difficult, it impacts on the learning of all students.

"The BPTC is a unique course that moulds future barristers, so it is right that we only allow those who can demonstrate key fundamental skills to sign up. The BCAT is a significant intervention to improve the quality of learning for all students on the BPTC."