Further Steps for the Bar

Hi there, bit of a long and open post but I have feeling a bit lost lately, especially with receiving recent mock/formative grades, that seemed to have ranged a lot in marks.

I am currently first year at a top non-Oxbridge RG uni for my law degree with really strong passion to practise at the civil or commercial Bar in London, and I'm not sure if I'm looking for words of assurance or some brutally honest feedback but I do really want to be on the right track.

My marks have been varied for a first round, tort, and public law being my best with firsts/high 2:1, criminal and contract being my worst with mid 2:2 and a 48! It feels a bit humbling however, thankfully the feedback was extremely useful.

Beyond this I'm not sure what I should do? I have been involved with a lot of debating and mooting, reaching 2nd place in 1 round, semi finals in a couple of other ones, however nothing to write home about as they aren't big competitions. I did participate in a Middle Temple intervarsity competition, however narrowly missed out on the finals. However, I'm not sure if this is enough, or I should up my game (sign up for Jessup next year maybe?). There are openings for the University's Law Society Committee positions, which I was looking at- I'm not hugely popular on my course so am struggling with campaigning.

Work experience-wise, I did recently not make it onto SPARK, so was wondering if I should look into a couple of first year schemes with city law firms, alongside a mini or two this year? I have unfortunately missed the commercial awareness event our school runs too, so I feel like I am behind on that.
I'm overall just aiming to finish the degree with a first, 5 or so minis supplemented with some law firm experience, win a mooting competition (again, not sure if I'm expected to win big ones) and try and get to final rounds of others, make a committee role on the Bar/Law Society, and maintain a decent work/life balance- if this is enough for the standard of (not the elite, but decent) London sets.

Sorry that this is long winded, but I just wanna make sure I am on strong footing for first year, or if I should change gear, as I understand this is a brutally competitive industry. Academic goals are set with a strong first, but I still want to balance these other things and a social life where I can still be well involved with friends of course! Thanks :smile: