News release

SQE knowledge assessment details published

10 December 2019

We have published final detailed information about the legal knowledge that will be tested in the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

The final version of SQE1's Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) Assessment Specification is now available. A draft was first published in summer 2017.

Since then, we have engaged extensively with more than 500 stakeholders - including training providers, subject matter experts, law firms and students - to get feedback. This has included engagement through the SQE reference group, SQE1 pilot, workshops, and surveys.

As a result, we have, working with our assessment provider Kaplan, made changes to the Functioning Legal Knowledge to make it clearer what will be assessed where.

Julie Brannan, SRA Director, Education and Training, said: "We had really useful feedback from stakeholders on the Assessment Specification, and have made a number of changes, in particular to make the specification clearer and more precise. The final specification also reflects changes to the assessment we made as a result of the SQE1 pilot.

"By publishing the specification, training providers, the profession and other interested parties can see exactly what our expectations are and prepare accordingly."

We will make a decision about the SQE1 skills assessment in 2020, after evaluating the SQE2 pilot. The SQE2 Pilot Assessment Specification tells candidates what will be assessed in the SQE2 pilot, how it will be assessed and to what standard.

The pilot is taking place from 10-15 December, with candidates selected to create a sample group as representative as possible of those who will sit SQE2 when it is introduced.