SQE frequently asked questions

The introduction of the SQE has changed how you can qualify as a solicitor significantly. More flexibility of study methods, less cost and no training contract needed are some of the key changes.

Enrolments are now open for the SQE1 Prep course with Law Training Centre, if you would like any further information or would like to speak to the team, please visit our contact page.

Law Training Centre's SQE1 Prep course

The full price of our SQE1 Prep course before any concessions is £2,890. There are a range of discounts and concessions that are available to you, meaning starting price could be as low as £2,190.

Concessions are available for Law Training Centre alumni, or for students that have previously studied certain types of courses.

For full detail of our course fees, concessions, and payment options for SQE1 Prep course, click here.

Whatever your circumstances, Law Training Centre has several options that you may choose to explore in terms of funding your SQE Preparation course.

You can select from paying the course fees in instalments, paying in full at the start of your course, or your employer may pay the fees for you – offering you the flexibility to be able to study without accruing any debt.

For full detail of our course fees, concessions, and payment options for SQE1 Prep course click here.

When you sign up for SQE1 Prep with Law Training Centre, you will be given 15 months access to course materials.

To read more on the course features we include as standard click here.

You will have direct access to our approachable team of subject expert tutors when you study SQE1 Prep with us.

You can interact with tutors via two live workshops they deliver each month, focusing on the more challenging topics within the course, as well as through our forums or through email.

It is important that as an online student you do not feel alone, which is why your personal academic coach will be a named person at Law Training Centre that enables you to have a direct point of contact for support.

The Personal Academic Coach will be there to help if you are struggling with managing your studies, need support to balance or organise your studies, and to help you with your CV and offer careers advice.

Your Personal Academic Coach may also be able to assist you in collating all the work experience you have completed, allowing you to assess what else you need to do and put in place a plan of action. The Team at Law Training Centre understand the importance of practical skills and are well placed to offer support on how to obtain this in a way that suits you.

Law Training Centre knows that different people learn in different ways, which is why we provide you with access to a bank of different learning materials to suit all study styles. This includes workshops, audio content, flashcards, quizzes, and a complete law library.

Some methods will require your involvement directly, for example our live workshops delivered by expert tutors. Other materials can be used according to your time, which means you can work on the content as and when you are free. The course content will be a mixture of online and downloadable content, allowing you to work offline when needed.

As with any law qualification, you will need to work proactively and independently as you study, however Law Training Centre make it easier for you to take on this challenge.

At Law Training Centre we pride ourselves on our extensive learning materials, available in the form of a responsive e-learning platform, targeted recorded video lectures for key topics, concise written materials, flashcards, and revision materials (online and downloadable).

Our SQE1 Prep students will also receive access to the Law Trove e-book collection and Thomson Reuters Practical Law – the leading online legal knowhow service as used by 130,000 lawyers worldwide.

You will also receive access to our complete video library of workshops, meaning that no matter when you start or what your schedule is, you will have access to our tutors’ expert knowledge.

Law Trove is our online library, consisting of a huge resource bank for both the academic and practice-based law modules. This resource will be vital in helping you to get an in-depth level of understanding as you work through the SQE.

Whether you are an LLB undergraduate or a non-law undergraduate, Law Trove puts you on a level playing field. You can refresh your knowledge as you prepare for the SQE or, if you are approaching law topics for the first time, you can feel confident knowing you have access to Law Trove.

For each of the SQE units you will have access to a mock SQE1 Style Multiple Choice Question paper. This will allow you the chance to utilise the SQE1 Style Multiple Choice Question paper in a way that works for you.

Some students may decide to save the question paper until they complete all their learning and attempt it under timed conditions, which allows the student to experience how it feels to sit the mock paper under timed conditions.

Other students may also find that they prefer to work through a few questions each week – the choice will be yours.

Law Training Centre’s Team will also provide you with other types of consolidation activity that allow you to test your knowledge during your course.

SQE1 Prep by Law Training Centre fees include the exclusive Passplus Guarantee. This guarantees students’ course access and support for one resit, should you need it.

Following a successful completion of SQE1, you have six years to complete the necessary two years QWE and pass SQE2.

You will only be allowed three attempts at each assessment – SQE1 Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment 1, SQE1 Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment 2 and SQE2. This means one sitting and two resits.

You must take any resits within six years of your first SQE sitting. If you fail these, at the end of the six years you can start again from the beginning.

You can find more information here.

You must be 18 years or older to study any course at Law Training Centre. If you are a student that has just finished their college studies, look at the range of courses we offer and we can help you chart your course pathway with Law Training Centre.

If your goal is to become a solicitor, you can do that with Law Training Centre.

The SRA do not appear to offer ‘exemptions’. They do refer to transitional arrangements, which are detailed in the answer to ‘I am already studying to become a solicitor by another route, can I change to the SQE route?’.

Law Training Centre will update you on any changes should they arise.

Yes, you can – the details of how you are able to do this will depend on what qualification you are already working towards. For example a CILEX or CLC Level 6 Diploma may meet the ‘degree equivalent’ requirement to qualify as a solicitor.

To discuss your options please email us with a list of the qualifications you currently hold, and if you are still working towards finishing them, your planned subject choices. One of our advisors will contact you to advise further.

No, our SQE1 Prep course is online and can be studied anywhere around the world.

General SQE FAQs

There are a range of different areas that you will need to cover in your SQE studies. Law Training Centre offers you a fantastic level of resources to ensure you can prepare for these topics. SQE1 will cover:

– Principles of Professional Conduct, Public and Administrative Law and the legal systems of England and Wales

– Dispute Resolution in Contract or Tort

– Property Law and Practice

– Commercial and Corporate Law and Practice

– Wills and Administration of Estates and Trusts

– Criminal Law and Practice

Principles of taxation will be also assessed in relation to Business Law and Practice, Property Law and Practice, and Wills and the Administration of Estates.

The first SQE1 exam sitting will be in November 2021. You can read more about the SQE1 assessment here.

There are a range of different areas that you will need to cover in your SQE studies. SQE2 will examine legal skills such as:

– Client interview and attendance note/legal analysis

– Advocacy

– Case and matter analysis

– Legal research

– Legal writing

– Legal drafting

Students must demonstrate their ability to apply those legal skills across five separate practice areas.

The first SQE2 exam sitting will take place in April 2021. You can read more about the SQE2 assessment here.

There are no entry requirements for you to sit SQE1. However, as SQE is a high stakes assessment, with a limit of three attempts in a six-year period, it is advisable that candidates undergo SQE preparation.

It is expected that most learners will complete their degree/degree equivalent qualification before or alongside preparing for the SQE. Law Training Centre’s flexible online delivery for SQE1 Prep allows learners to fit their SQE preparation around their work and life commitments. To sit SQE2 you must have passed SQE1.

There may be times in legal practice where we see the use of a case name or statutory provision to set out a specific rule or principle. For example, Rylands v Fletcher, CPR Part 36.

Where this is the case, you as the student will need to make sure that you know and utilise the case names or relevant provisions. Other than these situations, you are not required to recall specific case names or include statutory authorities.

The SQE is one of four key components that you will need to fulfil in order to become a solicitor. These four elements are listed below. To allow flexibility in how you qualify, the SRA has not set any order in which you must complete the four elements. Therefore, you can choose when and how you do each part to fit around your own commitments.

From 1 September 2021 to qualify you will need to:

– Have a degree in any subject (or equivalent qualification or work experience)

– Pass both stages of the SQE assessment – SQE1 focuses on legal knowledge and SQE2 on practical legal skills

– Have two years’ qualifying work experience

– Pass SRA character and suitability requirements.

You can find more information here.

A UK qualification can be considered equivalent if it is:

– An accredited qualification at level 6 (or above) of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, awarded by the recognised degree-awarding body; or

– A regulated qualification at level 6 (or above) of the Regulated Qualifications Framework (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland); or

– An apprenticeship at level 6 or above, approved by the government departments of England, Wales, or Northern Ireland; or

– A qualification or apprenticeship at level 9 or above of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Yes, if it meets the requirements listed under ‘What is a degree equivalent qualification?’.

Yes, it just needs to meet the requirements listed under ‘What is a degree equivalent qualification?’.

The SRA has transitional arrangements in place which are designed to give candidates already on their way to becoming a solicitor the SQE is introduced as much choice as possible. This means someone already studying or training can continue to qualify through the existing routes or choose to do the SQE.

It is the SRA alone that decide on transitional arrangements. Please see the SRA website here for the latest information.

The SQE requires that you are able to evidence that you have completed 2 years of work experience in an appropriate legal setting. It is important that you have understood what is expected or permitted to make sure that you don’t waste your time completing work experience that is not considered suitable.

The QWE may be something you have already completed; it could be that you are about to start your studies on the SQE and are looking to build up that work experience. You may also have worked in legal roles and therefore your Personal Academic Coach can support you to collate that detail.

The work experience has to be signed off by a solicitor that holds a practising certificate. They do not need to be practising, but do need to hold the qualification. They also need to be able to confirm that you have completed the QWE – they will not be asked to sign off your competency, rather that you completed the two year QWE.

Training providers cannot advise on any criminal records and it is important you contact the SRA directly about this.

As part of the process to qualify as a solicitor, they will in fact, take into account the person’s character and suitability for the profession. If you are concerned about this, contact the SRA to query this sooner.

The SRA have confirmed on their website that each time you resit the SQE assessments you will need to pay the full examination costs again. This is unless you are only resitting one part of SQE1 (ie Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment 1 or Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment 2).