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Course overview
Flexible online learning, award-winning tech, individualised learning, personal feedback, and wrap-around support. Trust BARBRI’s SQE Prep courses to help you succeed in the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).
The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is replacing the traditional LPC route to qualification. You no longer need a law degree, an expensive conversion course (GDL) or a training contract. Here are the steps to qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales:
- Degree or Equivalent Qualification: You’ll need an undergraduate degree or equivalent level 6 qualification (e.g. apprenticeship) in any subject. International degrees must be European Qualifications Framework-accredited qualifications.
- Pass the Solicitors Qualifying Exams: The SQE1 tests your Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) through multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The SQE2 tests your application of legal skills through written and in-person oral assessments.
- Qualifying Work Experience (QWE): You’ll need two years of signed-off QWE with up to four different organisations, paid or unpaid, demonstrating your solicitor skills. Work experience can be undertaken before, during, or after the SQE exams.
- Apply and Satisfy the SRA’s Requirements: The last step is to apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for admission as a solicitor. This process includes character and suitability checks to ensure you are fit and proper to hold the role.
Study method
- Online
- Blended
- In-class
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Duration study load
SQE1 Prep
Flexible 40-Week Course:
- The Flexible course starts 40 weeks before the exam and gives you enough time to prepare if you don’t have a law degree from an English or Welsh university, work full time, or are an international lawyer dual-qualifying. It requires 10-12 hours per week of study – we recommend 1 hour of study a day with 1 full day of study on the weekends.
- We also offer other full-time, more intense options. Please enquire for more details if you’re interested.
SQE2 Prep
Focused 20-Week Course:
The Focused 20-week course is suited to candidates who have sat and passed SQE1, or LPC graduates who are exempt from SQE1, and who are looking for the most flexible option to study for the SQE2 exam. The course requires 10-12 hours of study per week.
- We also offer other full-time, more intense options. Please enquire for more details if you’re interested.
Course features
Maximum Flexibility
Our SQE prep courses are designed to be fully online and flexible to suit your individual needs. Your Personal Study Plan (PSP) is your unique learning schedule and you simply log in, anytime and from anywhere, to access the next bite-sized modules you need to complete. This enables you to study around work and other commitments.
Exceptional Student Support
You get unlimited one-to-one time with an SQE1 Prep learning coach, personal tutor feedback on your oral and written SQE2 assessments, plus wellness and mental health resources and top legal career support.
Comprehensive Practice Questions and Mocks
Get access to more than 3,000 practice SQE1 multiple-choice questions and a mock exam, and ample SQE2 written and oral practice assessments with personalised feedback and mock exams in each of the areas tested.
Expert Faculty
Our tutors are qualified solicitors and barristers with decades of legal education experience each, and we update our course material regularly to reflect the latest changes.
BARBRI Guarantee
This is a tough exam. We’ll do everything we can to help you pass, but life happens. If you didn’t pass the first time around, for whatever reason, we’ll help you to prepare for your resit.
50 Years of Experience
BARBRI is a household name for U.S. Bar Review preparation. We’re using the same industry-leading technology and legal expertise to help thousands of SQE Prep candidates successfully prepare for their SQE exams.
Assessment
Exceptional Pass Rates
BARBRI average pass rate*:
- SQE1 – 73%
- SQE2 – 76%
SRA average pass rate (January 24 sitting)
- SQE1 – 56%
- SQE2 – 73%
*of students who completed 90%+ of their Personal Study Plan (PSP), across all sittings
SQE1 Exam
The SQE1 exam tests you on the application of your Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) through 360 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions. The questions are split over four sessions: two sessions per day over two days. Each session contains 90 questions and lasts around 2.5 hours, with a total of 10 hours of exam time. The exam is computer-based and can be sat worldwide at Pearson VUE test centres.
The following subject areas are tested:
Day 1, FLK1:
Business Law and Practice; Dispute Resolution; Contract; Tort; Legal System of England and Wales; Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law and Legal Services.
Day 2, FLK2:
Property Practice; Wills and the Administration of Estates; Solicitors Accounts; Land Law; Trusts; Criminal Law and Practice.
Ethics and professional conduct are examined pervasively across both FLK exams, and principles of taxation are assessed in the context of Business Law and Practice, Property Practice, and Wills and the Administration of Estates.
SQE2 Exam
The SQE2 is a closed-book exam and comprises 4 oral exams and 12 written legal skills assessments. The oral assessments are tested in person in the UK and are spread over two half days, whereas the written assessments are conducted online from anywhere in the world, with 4 written assessments per day over 3 half days.
You will be assessed on 6 legal skills:
- Client interview and attendance note/legal analysis (oral)
- Advocacy (oral)
- Case and matter analysis (written)
- Legal research (written)
- Legal writing (written)
- Legal drafting (written)
These legal skills are assessed in the following practice areas:
Criminal litigation (including advising clients at the police station), dispute resolution, property practice, wills and intestacy, probate administration and practice, and business organisations, rules and procedures (including money laundering and financial services).
Ethics and professional conduct are examined pervasively throughout the SQE2 assessment. Questions involving taxation may arise in Property Practice, Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice, and Business organisations, rules and procedures.
Join our learner community
No matter who you are or what your background is, BARBRI can help you prepare for the SQE with confidence.
We have years of experience successfully supporting:
- Law graduates
- Non-law graduates from business, humanities, science and other fields
- Legal professionals such as paralegals
- Lawyers from other jurisdictions wanting to dual-qualify in England and Wales
- Candidates wanting to qualify as soon as possible
- Candidates working full time or having other life commitments
FAQs
How many times can one fail the SQE exams?
Candidates must pass both SQE1 and SQE2 within a six-year period and you have three attempts for each of the two stages. If you fail the SQE1 exam’s FLK1 and/or FLK2 three times during the six-year period, you must wait until that six-year period expires before re-applying. (Previous passes will not be carried forward.)
How do the SQE multiple-choice questions work?
The SQE exam questions are similar to the US Bar exam ones but completely different to the MCQs you may have encountered at university. A more apt way of describing them is as single-best-answer questions (SBAQs), where all the answer options are plausible or partially correct, but only one is 100% correct based on the context of the question.
You need to learn how SBAQs work, learn to spot the nuances, and understand the principles behind each law – and we at BARBRI are experts in these, having helped 1.45 million US bar students prepare for the bar exams. We turn every SBAQ practice question into a mini-lesson and don’t just give the correct answer, but we also explain why it’s the correct answer, and why each of the other options wasn’t the best answer in the given situation.
Subjects
Our in-depth SQE1 preparation course is available in various durations to suit your lifestyle: Flexible (40 weeks), Focused (20 weeks) and Accelerated (10 weeks).
It includes your intelligent Personal Study Plan, online video lectures, digital and hardcopy workbooks, and 3,000 multiple-choice questions (also called single-best-answer questions) with full explanations.
Add to that mock exams, unlimited one-to-one learning coaching and career and wellness support.
Our highly interactive SQE2 Prep course is available in Flexible (20 weeks) and Accelerated (10 weeks) durations.
The course includes your Personal Study Plan (PSP), online video lectures, a digital and hardback workbook, step-by-step activities, self-assessment activities, personal feedback activities, mock exams, workshops and weekly calls with tutors and peers.
About BARBRI
BARBRI is the largest provider of legal learning solutions for law students, professionals, law schools, universities, law firms, and organisations. BARBRI delivers exceptional outcomes rooted in learning science through trusted content, innovative technology, and data-driven insights + solutions while our learner-centric mission and core pillars never waiver.
BARBRI started as the leading provider of US bar exam preparation, helping over 1.43 million learners worldwide pass the US Bar Exam. We have expanded our ongoing commitment to lifetime legal education — and help students and partners navigate the ever-shifting complexities of the legal landscape with timely, relevant, engaging content, cutting-edge technology, and dedicated support to excel in the practice and the business of law.
Encompassing pre-law preparation, legal education, and law school materials and services, global licensure exam and certification preparation, and professional education, BARBRI provides a comprehensive suite of offerings to individuals, law schools, universities, law firms, and organisations.
From LSAT practice tests, tutoring, and law school admissions counselling to bar preparation, study aids, and West Academic and Foundation Press law school casebooks, through continuing lifetime legal education, there is a BARBRI solution designed, published, or taught by renowned subject matter experts in the legal field.
Our commitment extends to learners and legal professionals around the world who want to start their careers, attain licensure, or expand their skills. We offer preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) in England and Wales as well as Extended U.S. Bar Preparation programs that reflect our mission to open the doors to legal education to the next generation.
Founded in 1967, BARBRI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices in several U.S. cities and the United Kingdom.
