In late August 2022 the SRA published the results of the first SQE2 assessment, which took place in April of that year.
The overall pass rate was 77%, considerably higher than the 53% pass rate for the SQE1 test in November 2021**.
Interesting SQE2 Information
726 candidates wrote the first SQE2 assessments. The exams were administered in 86 written test centres (in 24 different countries!), and in 4 oral test centres in England and Wales.
The SRA has indicated that:
- half of all candidates were 25 – 34 years of age;
- more women than men wrote the exams, and the pass rate for women was slightly higher (79% for females vs. 75% for males); and
- candidates generally performed best in the research, advocacy, and interview / attendance note sections. They performed less well in the drafting, writing and case / matter analysis assessments.
The SRA also shared additional performance data from different demographic groups – including ethnicity, disability and socioeconomic status – but warned that this early information should be interpreted with caution. This is because some April 2022 demographic groups were small, and over 65% of candidates opted not to share details of their demographic background in certain categories. Thus the SRA stesses that identifying meaningful trends will only be possible after more SQEs are written and sample sizes are larger.
Initial demographic data can be viewed in the full SQE2 Assessment Results (April 2022), available on the SRA’s website. The SQE1 Assessment Results (November 2021) can also be found here.
Free SQE2 Webinar Available
The SRA hosted a webinar in October 2022 to discuss the results of the spring SQE2. The session looked at these first results in detail, including pass marks and standards setting, and candidate performance and feedback. You can watch the online replay below.
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** These early pass/fail rates seem to align with historic outcomes for the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme or QLTS. (The QLTS was a set of exams for foreign-qualified lawyers, which preceded the SQE process and ran from approximately 2012-22). Traditionally, ~50-55% of people passed the multiple choice portion of the QLTS, while ~75-85% passed the practical skills assessment.