The College’s Reflections on the First Set of SQE2 Results

Yesterday our SQE2 students received their SQE2 results, with many closer to their goal of becoming a solicitor. We are very proud of our first SQE2 cohort, thank you for putting your trust in us and you all worked extremely hard for these exams. Congratulations to those that passed, it is so well deserved.

Looking at the SRA’s statement on SQE2 results, it was fantastic to see almost 560 candidates getting closer to accessing the solicitors’ profession through SQE2 for the first time. 77% of students passed, showing the high level of skills and experience candidates have acquired. Some will already have their Qualifying Work Experience including those who may have undertaken a LPC sometime ago, so could be solicitors by the end of September, which is a fantastic achievement.

We are absolutely delighted with our students’ performance, with the majority having prepared for SQE1 with us. So we have been with them on their SQE journey since last summer, when they took the challenging full-time study route many doing so alongside other work commitments. Now, we have many part-time study options available to students, but this cohort is highly impressive by passing these exams with some holding down already well-established legal careers.

For those who were unsuccessful, they know we will continue to be by their side, with individual support should they wish to retake in October.

Looking at our assessments, and our own supervisors’ predictions as to who would pass SQE2 and comparing it to our student outcomes for the SQE2, we were reassured to see a similar pattern. Notwithstanding it’s a new assessment, the experience and expertise in our design and teaching team has meant that we have been able to provide a very robust learning journey and mock experience for our students. It has really shown to us the value of the readiness review we do with each student prior to them going on to sit the assessment. We are confident that we can give accurate advice to students on their prospects of success in SQE1 and 2, via our SQE Readiness Reviews.

Our students gave the team some fantastic feedback in April on our SQE2 preparation course. After the SQE2 assessment, they fed back that our assessments were very similar to the SRA exams, and they greatly valued and benefited from the regular individual feedback sessions from supervisors. They loved the compact Skills Guide and they were very happy with the preparation they received.

We also learnt a lot from our students to feed forward to our future cohorts - from study techniques to emphasising the need for familiarity with FLK from SQE1. We are now in an even stronger position to support our current students who are studying for October’s SQE2 assessment.

“Just wanted to thank you for your thoroughness in the prep for SQE2. Quite a life saver!"

“I couldn't have asked for anything more in terms of preparation from the College”

The SRA Statement also highlighted variations in student’s attainment levels, and whilst some were positive in terms of accessibility, such as candidates with a disability outperforming others, the gap for Black/Black British candidates in particular, has to be the biggest concern for us all. We don’t see these variations in our student performance as of yet, but are watching it very closely to understand more as our student cohorts go through each SQE assessment. Our individual supervision model is intended to ensure that all individuals are guided and supported to have the best chance of passing the exams.

If you are interested in hearing more about our SQE preparation course, you can find more details on our website.