SRA reports increase in SQE1 pass rate and rise in fees
updated on 22 April 2024
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The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) annual report has revealed that 56% of candidates passed the January 2024 SQE1 sitting – an increase on the January 2023 sitting (51%).
The results come as Kaplan and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) last week issued an apology to candidates after an error meant that 175 students were incorrectly told they’d failed.
As part of the SQE report, the SRA collects diversity and socioeconomic data to “help understand how candidates with different characteristics and backgrounds perform in the assessments”. The report shows a slight improvement in pass rate for candidates from each ethnic group:
- The pass rate for Asian/Asian British candidates, who accounted for 28% of the proportion of candidates, was 51% (up from 47% for the January 2023 sitting).
- The pass rate for Black/Black British candidates, who accounted for only 6% of the proportion of candidates, was 39% (up from 29% for the January 2023 sitting).
- The pass rate for mixed/multiple ethnic groups, who accounted for only 5% of the proportion of candidates, was 57% (up from 54% for the January 2023 sitting).
- The pass rate for white candidates, who accounted for 49% of the proportion of candidates, was 69% (up from 63% for the January 2023 sitting).
Although there were nearly half the number of men (35%) to women (63%) who sat the January 2024 SQE1 sitting, the pass rate was higher for men at 64%, with 56% of women passing.
Meanwhile, there continued to be a clear difference in pass rate depending on type of school attended. For example, nearly one-third of those who took the January 2024 SQE1 exam attended school outside the UK (the pass rate for this group was 54%), while the pass rate for the 14% who attended an independent or fee-paying school was 68%. This dropped to 59% for the 29% of candidates who attended a state-run or state-funded school (non-selective).
This report was released not long after the SRA announced that fees for the SQE assessment will increase from September 2024. SQE1 will cost £1,888 (currently £1,798) and SQE2 will cost £2,902 (currently £2,766).
