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‘This is a nightmare’: Aspiring lawyers face lengthy wait to secure SQE exam slots

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By Thomas Connelly on

48

Over three hours for some

Students have expressed their frustration at having to sit in an online queue for hours in a bid to secure an assessment slot for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

Aspiring lawyers are able to secure exam slots through an on-line booking system, with applications for some SQE sittings opening at 10am today.

But some students report still being unable to secure a space despite waiting over three hours.

One future trainee solicitor, who is still sitting in the online queue at the time of publication, said they logged into the system promptly at 10am. “It’s been very stressful, especially since there’s little progress being made on the queue, and it’s hard to focus on other things when this is in the background!” they told Legal Cheek.

Students on X, formerly Twitter, report facing similar issues. “Waiting in your queuing system, which seems to be crashing when people reach the front of the queue,” one student wrote. “Forcing them to then rejoin the queue. Seems extremely disorganised if you ask me.”

Another said: “Am in a WhatsApp group with around 30 people all trying to book the SQE exams. We’re all either still waiting — now 1hr40 mins — or ineligible to book for pre-booking steps issue. We all work full time in paralegal/casework roles. This is a nightmare.”

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“ANYONE ELSE STRUGGLING BOOKING THE SQE1 EXAM? HELP!” another student posted. “I’ve completed all the pre booking steps but days i’m not eligible! Stuck on hold to customer support!”

A Kaplan spokesperson told Legal Cheek:

“We have experienced problems with the booking process for the SQE1 assessment which have now been resolved. We can reassure candidates that capacity is widely available and the booking window will remain open until 15 November. Throughout the booking process, seats will be added where extra capacity is available. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

This isn’t the first time SQE students have ran into problems when booking exam slots. In 2022 Legal Cheek reported that solicitor hopefuls had encountered delays of up to two hours after logging in and joining the virtual queue.

UPDATE: 14:20pm The SRA has now posted the following message to X:

48 Comments

Anonymous

It’s been four hours for me now and I still have over an hour to get onto the site.

Completely unfair system.

It’s the most stressful exam introduced by the SRA and they want to make it even harder by these wait times, which cause some people to unfairly be made to travel miles and incur costs of accommodation to somewhere where they don’t even live.

It’s just a matter of time until the sqe is going to be overhauled when they realise how terrible the entire system is.

Reply Report comment
(66)(4)

future trainee

Took me nearly 4 hours. While in queue on my laptop the progress bar barely moved. Tried logging in on my phone on incognito browsing and instantly got through to make a booking, completely bypassing the queue – maybe try this! After booking through my phone the progress bar on my laptop still says over an hour to get onto the site.

Make it make sense, SRA!

Reply Report comment
(27)(0)

X

I joined the queue at exactly 10AM and i’m just halfway through. I tried calling the customer helpdesk but there’s 800 people ahead of me. Now I’m afraid that I will have to fly somewhere else just to sit for the exam because all of the slots are most likely unavailable by now.

This is such an unnecessary stress. We should be working/ studying right now but here we are, all tied up with this booking process.

Reply Report comment
(24)(1)

Snowflakes

I highly doubt the 2 hours you spent today will impact your pass/fail mark on the SQE. Are you just trying to get ahead by making excuses early?

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(14)(96)

Anon

I had to fly to sit my exams. Trust me, it has no bearing on your performance if you are aptly prepared.

Reply Report comment
(6)(27)

Anon

I waited two hours to get onto the booking system. After this, I found that my voucher did not work. I returned to check an hour later, finding that the voucher still did not work. I then refreshed my page, only to find that I was put back in the queue, when we were assured that we would not lose our booking!

Reply Report comment
(16)(0)

Jim

I managed to book mine an hour ago but it said no spaces available in Bristol or Cardiff. Now someone else has managed to book in those locations just now. Seriously how can it be this badly organised!?

Reply Report comment
(18)(0)

Shivani

I can’t get anywhere in the whole south of the UK

Reply Report comment
(13)(0)

SX Boy

Having to go to the North must be a breach of human rights.

Reply Report comment
(11)(10)

Anon

I’ve had to book my exams in Paris for FLK1 and Eindhoven for FLK2.

Reply Report comment
(0)(0)

Partner

This is even more incredulous because only about 4,000 people take the SQE1 per session. I recently booked Taylor Swift tickets for my daughter (a 40k+ capacity event) and that took about 30 mins max, done and dusted!

Reply Report comment
(33)(2)

Nice

Let me know when I can take my SQE exam in Wembley stadium

Reply Report comment
(18)(27)

Revert

Do you understand analogies?

Reply Report comment
(23)(1)

Archibald O'Pomposity

You’re not a partner. Or at least, not a partner in a law firm. Partners know how to use the word “incredulous” correctly.

Reply Report comment
(1)(6)

Sonia

I sat the sqe1 in July and I queued online for just over 4 hours. When I eventually got in, all the London slots were gone and the ONLY option available was to book at one of those laptop-delivery centres. Doesn’t tell you anything other than it’s within the M25, go figure! Closer to the exam I was actually told where the venue would be, I had to travel about 2 hours to get there. When I got there, there was a horribly long queue of students waiting all the way outside the venue, on the road. The exam was scheduled for 09:00 and the email said to aim to arrive as from 07:00 to be registered by 08:00. Will just say that at 08:35 I was still queuing. Yes, I left home at 5 am, woke up at 4. What a dreadful way to sit exams. From the chaotic booking process to the arrival and registration. By the time you actually sit the exam, you are physically and mentally drained.

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(40)(0)

Now preparing for SQE2

I sat the July exam as well. I was well prepared for making the booking: researched (London) venues and had a list of preferred venues, logged in at 9am to join the online scramble that started at 10am. I was in the queue for the best part of 1.5hrs before I got in. By then, all the London non-laptop venues were fully booked. I knew I needed certainty and the laptop only options weren’t right for me. So I had to look outside of London and I managed to book at a location in Kent. I was lucky and am glad that I did that because the testing centre is a standard driving test centre. It is small (could only host 4 candidates), is well run by dedicated staff, has partitioned booths, and the tech worked.

The stress and pressure of the booking process were awful! Although I am pleased to say that I passed SQE1 on my first attempt. I seriously wouldn’t want to go through this again!!

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(14)(0)

Archibald O'Pomposity

Now that DOES sound rather stressful for anybody going to sit an exam. I hope you were able to put it out of your mind once the clock started ticking!

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(0)(0)

Anon

When loading the page to go into the queue just hit the X button on top left and it stops the queue loading – Skips the queue and you can log in straight away

Reply Report comment
(0)(6)

Anonymous

Been in the queue since 9:57am with over an hour to go. Apprentices were given voucher codes to pay for their sittings by Kaplan – these codes did not work. Lots of people getting error messages saying that “pre-booking” steps had not been completed even though they had been. Most sittings are now fully booked and will unlikely to be able to book anywhere even remotely close. Extremely stressful and its not even the exam stage.

What lessons were learnt from last year issues for waiting times were raised? More bookings that no one can book because they cant get into the site? Absolute shambles.

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(17)(0)

Anon

I found that the only way I could get my voucher to work was to copy and paste the code instead of typing it.

Reply Report comment
(2)(0)

Anon

I’m still waiting in the queue now, at 3:50pm…

Reply Report comment
(3)(0)

Tiredfromwaiting

I logged on at 9.55am and eventually got in to the website at 3.17pm. The only exam centre left available was in greater London. I am in the west country. Just added the cost of two nights of hotel stays to the exam cost. Incredulous, and dreading trying to book SQE2 when the time comes.

Reply Report comment
(8)(0)

Realist

Simply put, LPC was better

SQE simply a cash grab

Reply Report comment
(41)(1)

future trainee

It really is, and ultimately its not much cheaper for students. The only difference is that the SRA is making 100% of the money instead of BPP/ULaw

Reply Report comment
(11)(1)

Anon

Presumably people had a choice between LPC and SQE?

Reply Report comment
(2)(11)

reply to anon

i did

Reply Report comment
(0)(0)

future trainee (ldn)

I’ve been in the queue since 10am, and the page only opened at 4pm, a 6h wait!!!

Lots of people in my TC cohort had to book exam centres hours away from where they live. I wanted to book locally, but there wasn’t any availability anywhere around Reading/Oxford etc, and had to book an 8am slot hours away from me! So will have to pay for a hotel the night before.

Then pre-booking steps seeming incomplete, voucher codes not working etc. The money grabbing SRA should be ashamed…

Reply Report comment
(4)(0)

AN Other

I logged in promptly at 10am. Finally booked by 4:36 pm. My local exam centres are fully booked. I managed a booking for 0800 start some 85 miles away from my residence.

My refund from last SQE deferment is still pending. I called the number, I was 109 in queue. I couched up full amount again and I will cause the refund tomorrow.

Completely crappy system. Queueing is unnecessary if the booking portal has adequate IT resources to accommodate the surge for a couple of days. But then it’s a taste of the legal system where I will work in the future.

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(5)(0)

k

Nah legal has better IT resources than that shit

Reply Report comment
(1)(0)

Lolm

wtf SQE sounding like some hunger games shit

Reply Report comment
(16)(0)

k

i have literally never seen anything positive about sqe

Reply Report comment
(11)(0)

Dansk

just out of interest – has anyone got anything positive to say about the SQE replacing the LPC?

other than the “widens access to the profession” point, which seems impossible to prove/measure

Reply Report comment
(10)(0)

Harvey

Further proof that the SRA really aren’t fit for purpose anymore

Reply Report comment
(10)(0)

wits end

I joined the queue at exactly 10am, queued for six hours, got let onto the portal to find it extremely slow but my closest 30 test centres were fully booked. Then on hold for two hours to candidate support who confirmed that all test centres across the country fully booked and new slots were likely to be added at some point. No idea when they will be released, nor which centres they will be at. This now means that everyday until the end of the booking window we will have to check the booking portal for as many centres as possible on the off chance that we might get lucky and find one. And even if we can find an available FLK1 exam – good luck booking FLK2 and vice versa.

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(11)(0)

xyz

I had the exact same issue.

Reply Report comment
(1)(0)

Alan

Good lord, I’ve never seen such a dictionary definition of first world problems. Try being called up to travel across the sea, fight in the trenches while your friends perish around you and tell me this is half as bad as you lot make out.

Reply Report comment
(1)(30)

Archibald O'Pomposity

The first time I have ever agreed with “Alan”.

Reply Report comment
(0)(3)

Luke

Such a fallacious argument; nobody is comparing the issues here to trench fights and death. It is a comparison between what should and could be happening, and what is actually happening. On principle, if we fail to call out poor administration and processes, we will only regress as a society to the point that we will give ourselves more important things to worry about.

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(11)(0)

Honestly be quiet Alan

So how many times have you been ‘called up to travel across the sea, fight in the trenches while your friends perish around you’?

Reply Report comment
(3)(0)

Solicitor Apprentice

After logging in just before 10am yesterday, I did not have the opportunity to book until 2:30pm, and then did not complete the booking until 3pm as there were no available venues! Kaplan state that ‘capacity is widely available’ yet the closest venue that I could book into was Glasgow, when I am based in Yorkshire (adding the expense of travel and hotel, on a trainee wage, to the stress) – with other members of my cohort having booked Paris, Prague and various other countries which is just completely ridiculous! This has been extremely stressful, but at least we have a university to fight our corner and put some pressure on Kaplan to assist – I cannot imagine how much more stressful this would be for someone self-funding and without a body to assist fighting their battle. This needs to be sorted as it is simply not good enough.
If the SRA had exempt apprentices in the same way it exempts LPC students from SQE1, having sat all of the relevant modules, it would have reduced the demand which whilst I doubt would have resolved all the issues, may have assisted somewhat.

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(4)(0)

Sam

The SQE was introduced to be ‘more accessible’ to future solicitors. I am incredibly disappointed at my experience with the University of Law and their lack of coordination with the SRA/SQE is abysmal. I applied for a part time course while working as a paralegal it has cost me £4.5k of my own money to sit the course online to not be guaranteed an exam spot when I wish to take one is costly and frustrating and certainly adds to the stresses of studying a challenging course while working full time.

Like everyone else I woke up early and entered the exam que on the first day it opened during a working day and to find out that they sold out quicker than Beyoncé tickets after spending hours waiting is really disappointing considering the “organisers” had all year to come up with a better process.

Paying students deserve a lot better than this.

Reply Report comment
(9)(1)

HSTootToot

The tagline for this article needs to be amended to ‘over six hours’.

Reply Report comment
(3)(0)

xx

The SQE was introduced to be ‘more accessible’ to future solicitors. I am incredibly disappointed at my experience with the University of Law and their lack of coordination with the SRA/SQE is abysmal. I applied for a part time course while working as a paralegal it has cost me £4.5k of my own money to sit the course online to not be guaranteed an exam spot when I wish to take one is costly and frustrating and certainly adds to the stresses of studying a challenging course while working full time.

Like everyone else I woke up early and entered the exam que on the first day it opened during a working day and to find out that they sold out quicker than Beyoncé tickets after spending hours waiting is really disappointing considering the “organisers” had all year to come up with a better process.

Paying students deserve a lot better than this.

Reply Report comment
(1)(1)

Archibald O'Pomposity

You are entitled to feel frustrated, but you are not entitled to be granted priority over other candidates. In your legal career, there will be many more occasions when you have to wait a long time for something that ought to happen promptly for you or your client. On these occasions, as on this one, your priorities will not justify anybody prioritising you. Get used to it. That’s life.

Reply Report comment
(1)(8)

Anon

Attempted to book my SQE FLK 1 & FLK 2 yesterday, logged on at 9:30 to secure my place in the online queue and was eventually given access to my account at 15:30. After this long on a wait I found only one place available for my FLK 1 and no place in the UK for my FLK 2. I tried to book just the FLK 1 however it didn’t allow me to complete my booking as I have to also book the FLK 2!!

This seems like a horrible process at the moment and I do not have a booking due to the limited spaces.

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(1)(0)

Archibald O'Pomposity

Have these whingers never tried to buy tickets for Glastonbury? Or waited in court during delays to hearings? Three hours is nothing. It’s not like their hands were tied during the waiting time and they could do nothing else.

“It’s been very stressful, especially since there’s little progress being made on the queue, and it’s hard to focus on other things when this is in the background!” they told Legal Cheek.

MY GOD – wait until you hit post-qual reality, you snowflakes! I’ve no doubt it was annoying, and issues like this are inexcusable – let me be plain about that. But if the adversity is bad enough to trigged six months of PTSD, then you’re headed for the wrong career.

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(2)(14)

F

Oh shut up troll

Reply Report comment
(3)(0)

GetBooked

Currently FLK1 and FLK2 seats available at Portsmouth (as of 3pm on 6 October!)

Reply Report comment
(0)(1)

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