Originally due 2023
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has conceded that a flaw in how it collects data has left it unable to publish pass rates by SQE training provider, despite having originally pledged to release the information in late 2023.
In an update published on its website this week, the regulator said it does not yet have confidence in the accuracy of data linking candidate performance to SQE preparation. Publishing the figures as they stand, it warned, would risk “misleading” aspiring solicitors.
“When we launched the SQE, we committed to publishing pass rate data by training provider,” the SRA acknowledged. “To date we have not had confidence in the quality of the data collected.”
The issue lies in timing, according to the regulator. Students are currently asked to declare their training provider when they first create an SQE account, often long before they have completed, changed or even started their prep. As a result, the SRA says it cannot be sure the data reflects how candidates actually prepared for the assessments.
To address this, the regulator will change when it asks the question. Going forward, candidates will be required to confirm their training provider, if any, just before they receive their results, at which point they “will know for certain how they prepared for the assessment”.
Until that change takes effect, provider pass rates will remain unpublished, meaning a commitment first expected to be met in late 2023 will now not be fulfilled until at least 2026.
The SRA argues that publishing the pass rates without proper explanation could do more harm than good, confusing rather than helping students. Although everyone sits the same SQE exams, candidates prepare in very different ways, from full-time courses with training providers to studying on their own. The regulator argues that simply lining up pass rates ignores those differences and risks giving a misleading picture.
Any future release of data linked to training providers will therefore be accompanied by explanation and expert input. The SRA now expects this information to be published in 2026.
Alongside this announcement, the SRA has unveiled plans for a new SQE “course comparison tool”, due to launch in early 2026. The online resource will allow students to search and compare training courses and materials by cost, course duration, delivery method such as online, hybrid or in-person, and study type, including part-time or full-time options. The regulator says the tool is intended to help aspiring solicitors choose the right training option through “clear, comparable information”.
The admission is likely to frustrate students and providers alike, particularly given that publishing provider pass rates was one of the SRA’s major pledges and formed part of the case for moving away from the LPC.
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