Crucial comparison data was due by the end of 2023
Nearly a year after committing to publish SQE pass rates by provider, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has told Legal Cheek that it still cannot confirm when this information will be released.
The regulator previously committed to publishing candidate performance data, including pass rates by training provider, from “late 2023”.
The aim of publishing these statistics is to help aspiring solicitors make more informed choices when selecting a preparation provider, a need that has become even more pressing with the recent drop in SQE1 pass rates to a record low of 44%.
However, in December of last year, we revealed that the SRA would not meet this self-imposed deadline, citing a lack of “sufficient data”.
Fast forward nearly a year, and the SRA has told us it remains committed to publishing the data but can’t specify when this will happen.
A spokesperson for the SRA said:
“We are analysing the data we currently have and intend to publish that in a report soon. We also remain committed to publishing data linking SQE candidate outcomes with how they prepared for their assessments. We are working with a third party to explore how we can develop an interactive tool to enable the data to be searched in a way that will be helpful for candidates.”
The ongoing delay is likely to frustrate both law schools and aspiring solicitors, especially since publishing this data was one of the regulator’s key selling points in transitioning away from the Legal Practice Course.
Several law schools have already started sharing breakdowns of their pass rates, though these figures depend on students voluntarily reporting their results to the institution. Meanwhile, other providers have opted not to disclose their candidates’ success rates.