Achieving higher scores and pass rates than non-apprentice candidates
Solicitor apprentices are outperforming their non-apprentice peers in the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), new data reveals.
The SRA report analyses results from more than 24,000 SQE1 candidates and almost 12,000 SQE2 candidates who sat the exams between November 2021 and April 2025. It found that apprentices achieved higher average scores and pass rates than non-apprentices across both stages of the exam, with the gap most notable in SQE2 which covers practical legal skills such as advocacy and client interviews.
Apprentices made up 5.5% of SQE1 and 6.3% of SQE2 first-time candidates during the period. In both exams, they were more likely to come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, to be female, and to identify as white, compared with non-apprentice candidates.
Apprentices pulled ahead in both SQE1 papers, FLK1 and FLK2, posting higher average scores and pass rates in almost every sitting. The gap widened even further in SQE2, where they beat non-apprentices in all but one sitting, April 2025, which the report described as showing a “more marked” difference in performance.
The SRA attributes apprentices’ strong SQE2 performance in part to the workplace-based nature of solicitor apprenticeships, which combine legal study with hands-on experience. This route, introduced in 2016, allows candidates to qualify as solicitors without paying university tuition fees, as costs are covered by the government’s apprenticeship levy and employers.
The report notes that most solicitor apprentices so far have been graduate apprentices, those who already hold a degree and typically complete a two/three-year programme that combines office work with SQE prep. By contrast, Level 7 apprentices start straight after A-levels and spend around six years training, earning while they learn. For more on the Level 7 route and which firms are offering it, check out our freshly updated Solicitor Apprenticeships Most List 2026.
Performance between the two groups, graduate and non-graduate apprentices, was broadly similar across both SQE1 and SQE2, though non-graduate apprentices tended to come from slightly lower socio-economic backgrounds and were younger overall.
You can read the full repot here.
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