SQE1 to take place on 8 and 11 November 2021, with SQE2 in April 2022
The dates for the first-ever sit of the new solicitor super-exam are in the public domain.
The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), a two-part national assessment to be set and examined centrally, will be introduced from this autumn, with the Legal Practice Course (LPC) being gradually phased out. Legal Cheek can reveal that the first stage of the assessment, known as SQE1, will take place on 8 and 11 November 2021, with SQE2 in April 2022.
Initially there will be two sittings of each exam per year. SQE1 involves around ten hours of exams completed over the course of two days, while SQE2 takes around 14 hours over five half days.
The highly anticipated SQE is set to shake-up legal education and training, and years of exams being set and marked by more than 100 different training providers.
Already we have seen new providers grapple for a share of the lucrative SQE market: BARBRI, QLTS School and the College of Legal Practice (CoLP) have entered the scene in recent months with competitively priced SQE1 and 2 prep courses. Both BARBRI and QLTS School begin their SQE1 prep courses as early as next month, and in time for the first November sit, with CoLP starting from summer next year.
In June, the Solicitors Regulation Authority unveiled the final SQE design. SQE1 will focus on examining functioning legal knowledge, i.e. black letter law, in the form of a computer-based, multiple-choice assessment, while SQE2 will examine six practical legal skills through 15 to 18 tasks. The total cost will be £3,980.
The Legal Services Board approved the new route to solicitor qualification in October.
Next month Legal Cheek is hosting an afternoon of virtual seminars to mark the start of the SQE launch year. ‘The SQE Sessions’ takes place on 28 January 2021, and tickets are available to purchase now.
