Carrie, is your daughter reading law at the moment or a different subject and will convert to law?
Either way she could do the GDL (or LPC if she will have a law degree already) course in September 2020 which can be combined with a masters and for those needing funding the masters can now be eligible for a student loan if you do some extra work/modules rahter than just the GDL or LPC elements I think. She could then do what my older one did - she applied a year late, but the law firm did pay for her GDL and LPC and she had a gap year after the LPC but with the training contract ready to go back to but at least had got the LPC out of the way.
The other complication for your daughter is I believe if she is not currently reading law and does not start the GDL in September 2020 - two ifs... sorry it is a bit complex - then she will probably be under the new solicitor qualifying system taking new exams called SQE1 nd SQE2. That doesn't necessarily matter and if she gets a training contract she will do whatever courses the law firms want but I am certainly glad one of my sons is doing the GDL this September as that means he is under the existing system (unless he chooses otherwise). His twin brother who might have a gap year and then do the GDL for example would then be under the new system and have no choice but to be the experimental guineapig of a brand new system with doing a GDL type course and then after that separate SQE1 exams put on by I think it is Kaplan which seems a bit complex to me and then SQEII exams. I know my older daughter who is a solicitor in a London law firm says that big firm is very keen their trainees get all their exams done befoer they start work as a trainee and yet the new SQE system is going to make that quite hard.
However if your daughter is reading law or would start the GDL in Sept 2020 then she would definitely be under the current system with no SQE exams unless she chooses to move to that system or a law firm who hiers her wants her to do so. My gap year son says these new exams might be better anyway and that my suggesting something we know - the existing system - is better is just typical of my not liking change. He might well be right......
Meanwhile Sept 2020 GDL twin is having a new year buffet for 18 students including him and his girl friend but not his twin who just left for a difefeernt NY party (in dinner jackets if men etc) and he just went out and bought all the food for £20 which seems mostly to be pizzas. I hope they are not expecting more food. Given we were rationing out parsnips and roast potatoes at my Xmas day lunch and then boxing day lunch they all joke we are the only house in England with not enough food on Christmas Day.
I have been sorting out beds. As his twin won't be here and with other spare beds, camp bed etc that is beds for 6 guests (plus my son and his girl frirend). That leaves 10 without a bed but we have at least 3 sofas and he thinks some live locally enough they might go home and he told them to bring sleeping bags so hopefully we will be okay. I set the main diing room table for 10 even they don't eat on there and have put out 6 new towels. I think it will be fine. His twin had a dinner - yet another outing of the dinner jackets..... their older brother didn't even need one at university - last New Year here for about 8 university friends, including my 2 but that was a sit down 3 course thing, not his twin's pizza thing.