Latest SQE1 sitting sees 56% pass

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By Angus Simpson on

5

Up from a record low of 44%

Person passing online test
The report on the latest SQE1 sitting has been released, showing an overall pass rate of 56% — up slightly on last summer’s record low of 44%.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reported that 6,718 candidates completed both parts of SQE1 in the January sitting this year.

The pass rate data

Of these, 5,908 were first-time candidates, achieving a slightly higher pass rate of 60%. Interestingly, qualified lawyers — presumably mostly those qualified in overseas jurisdictions — had a lower pass rate than those not yet qualified: 52% compared to 62%.

Pass rate data for qualified lawyers

In February, Legal Cheek reported a record high pass rate for SQE2, at 81%. Candidates must pass SQE1 to sit SQE2.

Earlier this week, the Legal Services Board announced it has given the SRA until Autumn to publish pass rate information from across the different SQE providers. This has come after a series of delays.

Last week, Legal Cheek highlighted one candidate’s experience after failing the challenging SQE where the top 20 firm which had sponsored her as an incoming trainee was seeking to clawback funding – on top of rescinding her training contract.

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5 Comments

anon

Passed both thankfully. What a horrendous exam lol. My cambridge exams felt easy in comparison!

anonanon

What did you study at Anglia Ruskin?

Revert

Just adding my countervailing perspective – I passed both FLK1 and FLK2 in first quintile, after studying for a total of about three weeks, and found that they were nothing compared to my Cambridge Law BA (Senior Status) exams.

anon

Each to their own. I also finished in Quintile 1 for both, but walked out the exam thinking I had almost certainly failed FLK2.

The sheer memory aspect of the SQE1, combined with a simple right/wrong approach which does not lend itself nicely to the legal profession which is all about nuance and argument, meant I found it trickier than Uni personally.

Gop Yah - Private S-Banter

Looks like the pass rate has normalised then.

What’s all the fuss about?

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