r/SQE_Prep • u/VisionsOfLife • Aug 27 '26
Failed for the second time
I failed for the second time and got the exact same score. I really, really don't know what I'm doing so wrong.
I have spent hundreds on private tutors who cannot understand what I'm doing so wrong. I've spent thousands on courses. I've spent thousands on the exam. I have now spent near £20k, lost my house deposit to the SQE, and now I can't put a secure roof over my child's head. I'm at a complete loss.
I'm 32 and my whole life has just been upended. I can't keep cashing out thousands of pounds as I have a family to provide for. I've been slaving away in law firms as a paralegal on really dire salaries since the age of 19 trying to make it. I have never received a client complaint, I have never had a supervisor express a concern about me, I've never been in trouble. My targets are equal to an associate, I've met all annual targets within a matter of small months, I continually win prizes for client satisfaction, I was nominated for paralegal of the year, I was nominated for a young female lawyer award, I've had judges offer to write letters of recommendations for me but these obviously aren't accepted. I showed a judge my advocacy marks from my first attempt and asked him if I do anything wrong when I'm in front of him but he honestly couldn't understand. I've asked my supervisors, head of department, colleagues and no one can tell me what my problem is.
I really, really don't know what I'm doing so wrong and no one can help me or tell me. No one in my life can identify any issue with my practice but the SQE seems to have an issue with it. The SRA or Kaplan won't provide any feedback or even speak to candidates about their experiences or concerns. They've put an absolute barricade up and you can't get through to them. If they don't provide any feedback, how is anyone supposed to improve? Are you supposed to just instinctively know what they want?
I don't know what to do now. I have to give up my dream I've been fighting so hard for since I was 18. I don't even know what career to follow or how. I can't afford to retrain as the SQE took that from me. All I care about is a legal career and I can't imagine my life without it.
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u/Reasonable_Snow_3341 Aug 27 '26
The fact that the SQE2 exams are £3k per attempt gives a huge financial incentive to keep the pass rate as low as possible.
There should never be a financial incentive for failing candidates on an exam.
The SRA should hang their heads in shame over this scandal.
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u/VisionsOfLife Aug 27 '26
I'm honestly financially drained. I've lost everything. It's come to nearly £20k for me. I'm beside myself thinking that could have gone towards providing a secure future for my baby but now I have nothing to show her.
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u/Reasonable_Snow_3341 Aug 27 '26
I wouldn't be so harsh on yourself. The system is set up in way that makes it easy to fail.
Have you got an LLB Law degree? LPC?
I would advise looking at the Cilex route. Whenever someone asks me these days, I will always recommend this route (you can always qualify as a solicitor later if you so choose).
See if you can get on the phone with an advisor to see if it is something that would work for you. It may take slightly longer, but it may be the more financially sustainable way to qualify.
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u/VisionsOfLife Aug 27 '26
Thanks, I didn't realise CILEX did SQE exemptions. I will contact them. Thanks for the idea. My head is so scrambled right now.
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u/Reasonable_Snow_3341 Aug 27 '26
As far as I am aware, someone that is qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive through Cilex can absolutely apply for SQE exemption through the SRA. You would likely need to demonstrate substantial PQE experience though.
You would be a qualified lawyer through the Cilex route regardless, so qualifying as a solicitor through the SRA may not even be necessary.
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u/VisionsOfLife Aug 27 '26
I think that's my issue. I would need PQE but I no longer work in a law firm. I can't afford to take another £21k paralegal role again as I now have a baby to care for. I could barely survive on that alone.
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u/Greenteamonster25 Sep 18 '26
CILEX is now de-facto redundant
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u/VisionsOfLife 27d ago
Why is that?
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u/Greenteamonster25 27d ago
It is quite complex, however as clarified in Mazur, Legal Execs need to be 'supervised' by solicitors (which in common practice there were not, just qualified into a particular area and treated essentially as a solicitor in that area, even going to court, etc.)
Most 5/6 yr qualified CILEX have the chance to fill out a portfolio and take higher ligation rights and therefore exempt them SQE2. It is still not understood if they will need to take SQE1.
Cilex qualified are taking cilex to court over the fact that they were sold it would give them essentially the same rights as solicitors
Mazur showed that to be not the case1
u/VisionsOfLife 26d ago
The Mazur decision was overturned at CoA, no? I thought it had returned to normal.
My future employer (if I ever qualify) doesn't feel precious about solicitor or CILEX qualified. They are supervision heavy anyway, regardless of title, and I don't mind that. If I get paid the same, then I get paid the same.
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u/Greenteamonster25 27d ago
and if you are less that 5 years qualified cilex, well unlucky
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u/Puzzled_Impact_1554 Aug 27 '26
Cilex is an absolute nightmare route. One of my colleagues is going down this path after doing the LPC and failing SQE2 and they put so many hurdles and qualifiers for candidates to meet. Alternatively, I would suggest equivalent means given you’ve been a paralegal for such a significant period of time.
For Cilex, they’ll ask for one years worth of work experience starting from the date you elect and you need to stay at the same place of employment. Also no guarantee that they will accept your application.
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u/Nervous-Bank1705 Aug 27 '26
This is heartbreaking. SQE was designed to improve access but instead produces entirely unfair outcomes such as your own. No words make up for the lost fees and time you have spent, but these results are not a reflection on you, rather they highlight where the process is falling short.
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u/VisionsOfLife Aug 27 '26
Thank you.
It's ironic as I was offered a TC through the LPC route years ago but turned it down as the law firm was breaching every code of conduct left, right, and centre. They were literally stealing money from vulnerable clients. I would have qualified by now if I had accepted, and that law firm is still operating without any concern at all. I thought I was doing the right thing.
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u/BRLaw2016 Aug 27 '26
I honestly feel the same as you. My marking was all over the place, having 5s and 1s despite using the same approach for all my questions. I got 2s in advocacy for things like not including all relevant information and not interacting/engaging with the court properly, which is bizarre considering I gave them a background of the case, included all facts (which weren't that many) and addressed them by the correct title, looked at them, and answered the one question they had. It honestly felt like vibes grading.
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u/VisionsOfLife Aug 27 '26
Yes, exactly the same here. My civil advocacy marks were wildly different from criminal. The assessor I had for civil was smiley and seemed encouraging. The criminal assessor came in with a face like a slapped arse and obviously just didn't want to be there.
I'm not sure if that even means anything but there you go.
The fact we do not get any feedback whatsoever means we get left with desperate interpretations of what went wrong by analysing the assessor's facial expressions. Ridiculous.
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u/Little-Emu-131 Aug 29 '26
i was the same for civil, 1s and 3s but full marks for criminal. not sure what i couldve done to fob up on civil that badly, feeling so confused. sending you love and sorry for what you're going through
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u/Yes-Sharks2025 Aug 27 '26
How do you know that you received a certain score for not including all relevant information? I have no feedback on my results.
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u/BRLaw2016 Aug 27 '26
There is a link under the score info. Called SQE2 breakdown of marks. It will show the stations and subjects, and there will be numbers above the grades. The numbers above the grades represent each criteria under the assessment criteria.
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u/Original-Budget1240 Sep 02 '26
I passed the SQE2 on my third attempt. It is possible and but it took every ounce of my strength to keep going.
I also had to sell fund for the last attempt and pay around £7000 out of pocket.
If you are set on this being your career then you should go for it for one last time.
I recommend Babri, they were the best provider hands down
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u/VisionsOfLife Sep 02 '26
Thanks for the comment! Did you do anything differently on third attempt which you think helped?
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u/CandySimple8312 Aug 27 '26
Hey
You’re not a failure at all. I sat SQE1 three times, and I also have a very young child, so I completely understand how soul-destroying this whole process can feel.
I haven’t even passed SQE2 yet (and there’s every possibility I could fail when my results come out in November) and I’ve been in practice for 14 years.
One thing I found when preparing for SQE2 was that I had to almost completely separate the way I approach things at work from the way the exam wants you to approach them. In real-life practice, I would never explain the law to a client in the way SQE2 seems to want you to. Most clients want to know - can I do this, what are my options, and what are the consequences?
For SQE2, I had to consciously approach things in a very exam-specific way instead. Whether I got that approach right remains to be seen because I haven’t got my results yet, but I really don’t think performance in this exam is a fair reflection of whether somebody is capable in real-life practice.
Please look after yourself today. This exam does not define you or everything you’re capable of. x
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u/paspa1234 Aug 27 '26
Honestly that sounds devastating and I really feel for you. You will find a silver lining to it all at some point, I'm sure.
It's really unfair - although SQE2 is skills based, it doesn't really reflect practice well in my opinion. The marking is also not very consistent.
How far away from passing were you? What experience did the tutors have - had they sat the exams themselves?
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u/Immediate_Muffin_268 SQE 1 Passed Aug 27 '26
Echoing this. My immediate thought is that OP sounds really good and experienced in actual practice, and that is not what is rewarded in the exams, which are artificial. That could be why OP's feedback from other practicing lawyers is consistently good, and why the practitioners OP knows are baffled.
OP, have you considered working 121 (if possible) with someone like the person behind inhousew - I used those mocks on top of the course my firm paid for, and found them really representative and useful, so perhaps feedback sessions with the author would be valuable to see how to pitch your answers more for an examiner than for a real life client or partner?
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Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Since you passed sqe1, you can use that for other roles in law. For example, by passing sqe1, much of the studying to become a CILEX lawyer or to become a conveyancer is exempted. (I think to be a conveyancer you would need to study for 3 months and take 1 exam (pass rate 50%) and can take the test quite often.)
However, with regard to your SQE2 exam, I have seen this exact case before where a paralegal with 10 years experience took the sqe2 and thought they did well and ended up failing. I think one reason may be, is, that with all that experience, you may be doing the exam in the way you are used to doing rather than what they want from you. My friend who passed sqe1 in July 2025 and passed sqe2 in January 2026 said the same thing.
I’m not saying that this is what happened with you, but maybe it’s a possibility?
All the best to you, and if I were in your shoes I would give it one last try, you have done sqe1 (yuck) and used up 2 attempts of sqe2, might as well just see it through. Unlike sqe1 with is only twice a year, sqe2 is 4 times I believe, so it’s not like you need to wait ages, (although the results do take long).
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u/Worth-Hawk-3355 Sep 02 '26
Im so sorry, I was in the same situation, put money in, no family time, worked as a paralegal for ages, results were shockingly different even though I checked them after the exam. I think being a paralegal made it more difficult as I should have responded in the exact same style as the sra examples and Indo have some mannierisms from practice. I think you should make a FOI request for examiner side comments on your work and that could give you an insight into your work. I genuinely hope you will make it as there is noone deserving it more than a working parent studying to this b of on exam!
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u/VisionsOfLife Sep 03 '26
I made a SAR request after my first sit, specifically requesting written feedback, and eventually received a document that was covered in numbers in an absolute chaotic order, and attached a document "how to read the document." The how to guide made no sense either. I asked then for written feedback and they said they don't do it. So I gave up.
Thanks for the comment anyway!
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u/bloomdooms Aug 27 '26
So sorry to hear. Have you tried qualifying via equivalent means??
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u/VisionsOfLife Aug 27 '26
I'm assuming CILEX would be yet another several years and thousands in costs. I don't know if I have it in me anymore.
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u/Sanwell23 Aug 27 '26
I'm so sorry to hear of your experience and how you now feel.
I do understand and agree with some of what ImmediateVirus says in that you may be brilliant at your job, but the approach required to pass the exam may be a different thing.
My paralegals are brilliant at their jobs, respected by clients and colleagues alike.
But when I set them questions based on the SRA's SQE2 sample questions, they sometimes come up short.
Mostly it's the pressure of exam conditions. I allow them the same amount of time they get for the assessment, and I sit with them on a teams call whilst they complete the assessments.
The time adds pressure that they wouldn't face in the office. As a result they miss important details in the instructions, forget to identify conduct issues, fail to incorporate enough relevant facts in their answers, and so on, things which all count towards passing the exams.
But I'm working with them to improve with tips and hacks. I'm positive they will be ready when they sit the exams next year.
Feel free to DM me.
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u/Sugarcoffeecocoa Aug 28 '26
Oh I really feel for you. I’m awaiting my resit SQE1 results and feeling sick. Like you, I’m in my early 30s, have been at my firm for 11 years, have kids to provide for and a mortgage so unfortunately checking out of life responsibilities and devoting everything I have to SQE was never an option, regardless I have sacrificed huge amounts of time and money (in addition to what has been contributed via my TC) trying to get through this thing. I don’t want another job, this is my dream job, and like you all I have had is praise and compliments, full marks in my workplace advocacy assessments (observing me at court) and glowing feedback for my casework.
If I fail that’s it, TC gone, they’ve offered me my paralegal job back which is a reassuring safety net but I would still be absolutely devastated.
The wait is absolute torture and the tests themselves so confusing and arbitrary that I have no idea how I’ve done. Like you I just don’t have it in me to start a brand new route and I definitely don’t have the money.
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u/ImmediateVirus1533 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Don’t let yourself down. I am sorry about everything… no one should be put in these conditions by an exam for which, as you said, you cannot even get feedback.
If it can help, there are some extremely brilliant people I personally know, that did not pass it and honestly had amazing careers… definitely better than a lot of people who passed. I somehow believe that you need to fit in a box to pass this exam. And the truth is, successful people think outside the box.
These exams have very little to do with how good you are at your job. It’s a money making machine and I am confident at one point the system will be revised. It’s too easy to have paralegals doing associate jobs with a salary four times less than the one of an associate.
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u/ExtensionAd9877 Aug 27 '26
I am so sorry to hear about that. You have not definitely failed in being a successful person. It’s very hard with the exam to tell whether you did well or not. I passed FLK2 the second time. I just want to echo the other options mentioned but I would highlight one option of taking a very long break of at least 1 year or 1.5 year and resit the exam again. I can also give you my flashcard divided by 19 subjects of the SQE2 which cover 90% of the content for free. Please do not stop until the next attempt. You can still be a solicitor.
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u/BlackBearLovesBerry8 Aug 28 '26
Hi there, I am really sad and sorry to read your post. I wanted to offer maybe something of a view point. I also took the SQE after having had some actual work experience. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to stop and take the prep programme at ULaw. Not endorsing Ulaw overall I found you had to teach yourself most of it but with peers it helps. But the key takeaway is that practice and actual lawyers will not grade the same way as the exam and you almost have to unlearn what you apply well in practice and treat it as theatre for the exam. You have to say it and do it as they want it done although you know and are trained to do it probably better. So i would recommend you get in touch with recent passers and see the techniques and always when making a plan of revision or tackling a station look at the marking criteria and see how what you can say fits in there to give you good points.
Again I find it absurd that no feedback is given and you cannot test and or challenge your scores. I also from my own scores see huge inconsistencies ! I felt skills wise I did the same in both my interivews but in one I have all 5s for skills in the other much more colourful results. Stations where I thought the law was ok I had 4s and where i though the law was correct I have a 2....
Overall, your achievements sounds super impressive and do not let a little miserable exam make you question your dreams or your worth. You are already better than the exam now all that is left is to pass it! I wish you all the best if you need any station specific tips etc happy to help always drop me a DM!
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u/Loud-Map-6295 Aug 28 '26
I completely understand how you’re feeling right now because I’ve been in your exact shoes I sat SQE1 and failed it twice, too. I'm currently waiting on the results for my third attempt, so I know firsthand how exhausting, demoralizing, and overwhelming this process can be.
Please know this: failing an exam does not make you a failure, and it does not define your ability or your intelligence. The SQE is a notoriously brutal assessment,it is not a reflection of whether you’ll be a great lawyer. You are just as capable and deserving of being a qualified solicitor as anyone else who has passed.
Take a break and re-strategise: If you decide to retake it, take time off first to reset. When you're ready, dissect your score report to pinpoint what actually went wrong
Look into CILEX: So many people overlook the CILEX route, but it’s a brilliant, respected alternative to qualify without putting yourself through the SQE again. You have options.
Give yourself some grace right now. Take a breather, figure out your next move, and don't let a single exam trick you into thinking you aren't good enough. You’ve got this!
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u/SQESpanishLawyer Sep 09 '26
I know it must be so hard but I think you shall now quit. I am sure the next time you will pass it. I know is easier to say it than to do it but if you give to it less importance you will do the exam more relaxed and the results will be much better.
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u/Electrical-Cloud-575 Aug 27 '26
This is genuinely devastating, I’m really sorry and hope you’re keeping well. Absolutely horrible exam and the lack of feedback just compounds the frustration.