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SQE2 pass rate rises again to 79%

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By Rhys Duncan on

25

Over 2,000 aspiring lawyers sat latest exams


Results for the most recent sittings of part two of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) have been released today, with the number of students passing the exams rising again up to 79%.

This pass rate is slightly higher for those sitting the exam for the first time (81%), and marks a 6% increase from the last sittings which saw 73% of budding solicitors pass.

The SQE2 comprises 16 stations, with 12 of these entailing written exams and four requiring oral assessments. These are designed to assess both skills and application of legal knowledge.

Although all 2,181 candidates sat the written papers at the same time, the oral assessments were divided into four sessions due to limited capacity. As a result, the overall pass mark ranged from 61-62%, depending on which oral assessment sitting students took part in.

The SQE Hub: Your ultimate resource for all things SQE

Those taking the exams receive a single pass mark for the overall 16 station assessment, and there are no required marks for individual stations. The highest scoring students in this latest round took their overall scores over 90%.

To undertake SQE2 students must first pass SQE1, a test of their grasp of black letter law across two multiple-choice exams.

25 Comments

Sqe2 mess?

Is anyone’s marks all over the place? I’m getting 5s in some topics for a skill and 1s or 0s in another topic for the same skill. I passed but some of the marking was a bit harsh and very inconsistent. I also knew I performed better in one advocacy over another and yet I got much lower marks in that. They really need to be consistent in marking to be a regulator.

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(63)(0)

Analyst

or maybe you just did well in one station and poorly in the other one…

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(6)(13)

Q

Agree. I failed by 1% and there is so much discrepancy between the skills marks I have been awarded on the same type of assessments – fives and ones on the same skill. Feels devastating especially with the lack of feedback etc

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(9)(0)

SadSQEer

Totally agree. Missed out by 2% and in the same boat as you. There is no feedback which makes it almost impossible to work out where you can improve

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(4)(0)

Even sadderSQEer

Not being able to see a copy of your exam does seem manifestly unfair.

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(4)(0)

Anon

Yes, it is terrible that there is no feedback and terrible that you have to do all 16 stations again!

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(4)(0)

Sharon

Yep, passed but whole range of marks from 0-5, very all over the place.

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(2)(0)

Sad SQEer

Failed by 2% and shocked to see there is no possibility for a remark in this scenario of being so close when the marking is so incredibly subjective and entirely depends on who marks it. Also found the marking all over the place. 22 out of 25 for advocacy 1s and 2s on other areas

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(17)(1)

Shame on KAPLAN - SQE2

My marks were also all over the place. It was an utter shambles. I am so incredibly saddened to have failed. I genuinely do not know how the pass rate was so high based on the random 0s and 1s I received that torpedoed the rest of my grades.

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(11)(0)

Analyst

Instead of blaming Kaplan, it is probably wiser to focus on yourself and come back stronger.

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(2)(25)

Be well

Was this contribution intended to be helpful or just spiteful? This is a tough time for those who have not passed. The pressure and finances are massive. Hope everyone reading this who did not pass this time around is well and looking after themselves.

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(10)(0)

Thankskaplan

Also have completely inconsistent marks. Not sure how having adopted a relatively similar structure across tasks marks have deviated between 5s (beyond expectations of an NQ) and 1s (presumably borderline illiterate) in skills alone. Have aced every exam I’ve taken (including their ridiculous SQE1) and end up bottom quintile with no real indication as to why? Thanks to this utterly incompetent examiner and an uncaring regulator I may just have lost my TC. Know other perfectly intelligent Russell grads in the same boat.

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(15)(0)

Anonymous

Please let us know how your firm is reacting to the news.

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(1)(0)

Curious

Weird that the pass rate was a lot higher for those who had no qualified work experience, than those who had some. Surely it would be the other way around

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(9)(0)

Analyst

Actually, I’m not surprised. QWErs may have been overconfident and away from studying for a while.

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(1)(7)

Non-Russell Final Year

Probably more that the ones without experience are likelier to be oxbridge grads with TCs straight out of uni rather than a non-russell who has paralegalled and wants a TC a few years after leaving.

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(4)(7)

SadSQEer

Exactly this. I work in practice and have never had anything other than positive feedback about my advice on complex legal topics including the structure and style. But it probably isn’t the perfect ‘SQE’ way which is why despite my structure and style being commended by senior lawyers, it was seen as barely competent by the examiner.

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(4)(0)

Just 1% Off :(

I think this statistic has be skewed. Everyone I know who sat the SQE2 in April 2024, bar one person, failed by just 1-3%. Our marks are completely inconsistent and we may lose our training contracts. All of us passed SQE1 first time so our legal knowledge is strong yet we were all marked down for our law skills?!? And you there are no grounds for appeal.

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(9)(0)

So sad

Exactly, it is ridiculous how we pass the SQE 1 on first attempt and get 0 in law!! There is absolutely no way!

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(6)(0)

Anonymous

Please let us know how your firm is reacting to the news.

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(0)(0)

AngrySQE'er

Failed by 4%. No consistency in marking – it felt like they just threw numbers in without properly reading the assessments. I genuinely walked out of the assessments believing I had passed. 2,181 students who each paid £2700. Kaplan made almost 6million from these students yet cannot provide a proper feedback. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic.

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(17)(0)

SQWowwee

Using their system for marking which is on the SRA website, you can get a 3 in every station, which is a borderline pass and you come out with 60% which is not a pass. How does that make sense?

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(9)(0)

Looking For Advice

Could anyone who has passed SQE2, especially anyone who failed the first time and resat, recommend any course providers?

I would prefer courses that are mainly online. E.g BPP’s online course, QLTS etc

My skills were all high but my law skills were low so I want a course provider that will help me learn the law in depth.

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(1)(0)

Barely Surviving

You may struggle to find a provider that will do this.
I can only speak for ULAW (online) however, for SQE2 there was minimum mention of law, everything was focussed on skill set and we were instructed to continue to refresh our law knowledge from SQE1 around the teaching of the skills in our own time.

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(2)(0)

Jaded Goody

Go with BARBRI and learn (and I mean LEARN) all the law in the consolidated FLK textbook “SQE Final Revision” (it’s just over 300 pages and contains just enough law to pass SQE2). It’s still an intimidating amount to commit to memory, but it’s doable. Allow at least two months before the exam for this.

For advocacy, memorise the tests and applications they recommend in the workbook and familiarise yourself with their predicted SQE2 assessment topics “possible assessment scenarios”, also in the workbook. You can do this in a few days but I’d recommend a couple of weeks of rote learning these.

Do all the SPAs, PFAs and Mocks and if you do nothing else, memorise all the law they test in these, provided in the exemplars. Split your revision time 80/20 law/skills and for the skills just go through the exemplars again and again.

General point to anyone reading – everyone has misleadingly touted the SQE2 as a “skills” exam similar to the LPC. It is not. At all. You need to know as much law as possible and the law schools will not admit this to you because they draw people in by recommending a few hours study a week whilst shouting about their dazzling pass rates. Those few hours of study a week will be on skills alone, this is NOT enough to pass.

Ask anyone who has sat these exams and they will assure you the legal knowledge is the key to success, and there’s no shortcut or fudging this. You have to commit weeks and weeks of solid rote learning to retain enough FLK to pass. Bear this in mind if you’re holding down a job while you prepare and on this note – don’t be a hero at work while you prep for SQE2, do the bare minimum for a few months and give everything you’ve got to your revision.

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(3)(0)

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