Up from 80%
The latest Solicitors Qualifying Examination 2 (SQE2) results are in, with the overall pass rate climbing to 83% in the April 2026 sitting.
That marks another increase from the 80% recorded in the January sitting, which was itself up from 78% in the previous October/November rounds.
Some 2,966 candidates were graded in the April assessment, which ran between 28 April and 15 May, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s latest statistical report. First timers fared even better, with 85% of the 2,763 candidates sitting SQE2 for the first time securing a pass.
One of the more eye catching findings comes from the SRA’s qualifying work experience data. Among first attempt candidates, those who had not undertaken any QWE recorded a 90% pass rate, compared with 73% among those who had.
Degree results also appeared to track closely with performance. Candidates holding a first achieved a 92% pass rate, dropping to 83% for those with a 2:1 and 40% for candidates with a 2:2.
Meanwhile, gaps remained across ethnic groups. White candidates and those from mixed or multiple ethnic groups both recorded an 88% pass rate, compared with 82% for Asian or Asian British candidates and 67% for Black or Black British candidates.
This baffles me. I scrapped a Q3 pass and I found it harder than SQE1, which had 44% pass rate when I sat
How is the pass rate so high when the exams are so difficult! Arguably more so than SQE1!
I always get criticised for saying this, but I found both exams surprisingly manageable.
SQE1 was basically half an hour of revision a day when I wasn’t busy falling off my bike after a few drinks. SQE2 was even less sophisticated: a few mocks, never once recorded myself, and generally did it on the hoof.
I still don’t understand the vast disparity between people who say it was easy and those who describe it as the hardest thing they’ve ever done in their lives. Is there a silent majority who found it just fine?
My only guess is that people pile far too much pressure on themselves. I’ve never witnessed quite as much panic as I did in the course WhatsApp group. People were freaking out, trying to learn every conceivable point of law, and then some. I don’t think that’s the right approach. There seems to be real value in taking it relatively easy.
I decided fairly early on that I was going to all but ignore solicitors’ accounts and tax. Some of my cohort devoted entire weeks to tax. And guess what…
Part of the problem may be the culture of mollycoddling at British unis. The panic I witnessed on the SQE was largely attributed to a lack of support and information. The problem there lies with the British uni system rather than the SQE. I did a year abroad in Brussels and, if you didn’t turn up to lectures to write down what the lecturer was saying, you were on your own.
I say all this as a proud Desmond.
Literally. Always. Criticised.
The more empty thumbs down I get, the more I suspect that some people simply mistake the normal disappointments of life for systemic injustice.
A slightly uncomfortable possibility is that, for some candidates, the issue may not be the assessment but the career path they have chosen.
To put it bluntly, if I can get it, that’s generally a sign that it can be got.
COUGHsnowflakesCOUGH