Tilly Twite

Solicitor at Ison Harrison, Scholarship awardee and passed SQE1 and SQE2 with the College

Hi, I’m Tilly Twite. I’m a newly qualified solicitor at Ison Harrison. I started my journey with them five years ago as a legal assistant, then became a paralegal, senior paralegal, and now a trainee. I took the SQE1 and SQE2 Prep courses with The College of Legal Practice and was lucky enough to get a scholarship. I have now passed both SQE1 and SQE2.

What made you choose The College of Legal Practice for SQE Prep?

Finance was a massive part of choosing a provider due to my own financial circumstances. The opportunity to get a scholarship with the College, and the way they made this so accessible, really stood out. Affordability was always a concern when I was looking into progressing with my legal career, and this really took the pressure off. The College are very open door, promoting diversity, and this is an example of that.

It was just as important that the provider was predominantly online, too. I knew, due to my finances, that I needed to keep working full-time while studying, so in-person study really wasn’t an option for me. I needed to do a part-time course, and that was exactly what the College offered. 

I won’t say it’s easy - it’s hard work, especially with the long days that we see in criminal law, but the fact that I’ve managed my study around the job shows that it is possible. 

How has the College supported you in balancing your studies with your other commitments?

The first point of their support was the scholarship they offered, and how accessible they made it to apply and access it. I wouldn’t have been able to complete SQE Prep without their flexible approach and how committed they are to diversity.

I know some people might worry that because you’re doing an online course, you’re on your own, but you’re not. There are lots of opportunities to seek guidance if you need it. You have a personal tutor, as well as one to one sessions in each subject area. It always felt that there was never a problem that couldn’t be solved. My course also had a Whatsapp group where we connected more informally with coursemates and I made friends through it too. There was definitely a community feel to it. 

What was your experience of the SQE course itself? How did it differ from your previous study experiences?

The learning style for SQE Prep is very different to the undergraduate law degree I had done previously. While my law degree provided me with a great basis of legal knowledge, it felt very spoonfed and recall-based. The SQE is a very different assessment format and the College prepares you for that. It’s independent learning and the assessment is about applying your knowledge to a scenario, as opposed to regurgitating case knowledge. It’s very skills-based.

With that in mind I do recommend that if you can, get as much experience communicating and dealing with people as you can alongside your study. I’d worked in a restaurant before my legal career and dealing with difficult customers, thinking on your feet and analysing a situation all came in very handy when finding the best possible answer in SQE scenario questions.

Can you provide any tips to support students who are about to sit the SQE1 or SQE2?

Before you think about preparing for the exam, you need to decide which one you’re going to aim to take. There are lots of assessment dates, so you need to work back from when you want to qualify and decide your course dates and study times to fit that. 

In terms of my exam prep experience, I’d say never lose sight of the time you have left to study. Practice, practice, practice, and use every chance you get. For me, this meant the days were very long. I had to keep the end goal in sight as it was about short-term sacrifice for long-term gain. I think you get what you put in when you’re working around other commitments. You can’t take your foot off the gas. If it was easy, everyone would be a qualified solicitor - but it is absolutely worth the hard work.

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