smart
Superexam
coaching
Prepare with solicitors
qualified via the same route
Practice
Practice 1-to-1 SQE2
mocks with tutors
Feedback
Learn from the tutor’s
individual feedback
Flexible booking
Select the date, time
& area of law
Live demos
Watch live unrehearsed
demo mocks
what’s
the SQE?
In autumn 2021, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA – the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales) introduced the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE or informally called ‘superexam’), a new route to qualify as a solicitor of England and Wales.
The ideas behind it are explained in the SRA’s Training for Tomorrow – where the new superexam is viewed as:
Starting from 2011, the SQE design and methodology have been successfully tested on its likely prototype QLTS (Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme), and recently piloted by the SRA and Kaplan. The SQE1 pilot assessments engaged 316 aspiring solicitors. Over the course of three days the candidates’ knowledge was tested through a multiple-choice test, and their skills – through exercises in legal research and writing. The sample group selected to sit the SQE2 pilot included 167 candidates whose written and oral legal skills underwent a four-day assessment.
On 8 June 2020, after 9 years of numerous consultations (involving around 2,000 people), surveys, independent reviews, and massive expert guidance, the SQE final design was approved and can be accessed here.
Aim: to test the candidates’ ability to apply legal knowledge.
Aim: to test the candidates’ practical legal skills and application of the law to the facts.
Assessment
provider
The SRA has appointed Kaplan as the assessment provider for the SQE. Being a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, Kaplan has made a reputation as an international education and assessment organisation operating in over 30 countries. Alongside offering test preparation, professional education, language training, it has been the sole SRA-authorised assessment provider for the QLTS – all of which served as the grounds for selecting it to run the SQE assessment.
TRANSITION PERIOD
There will be a transition period for
different groups of candidates:
QLTS Aspiring Solicitors /
Candidates
MCT / Full Exemption
HIDEe.g. LPC grads
May choose either:
(i) to qualify via the QLTS by clearing QLTS OSCE:
(ii) or to qualify via the SQE from April 2022.
MCT / Partial Exemption
READMCT / No Exemption
READNON-QLTS Aspiring Solicitors /
Candidates
Legal Practice Course
HIDEIf by 1 September 2021, candidates have already started or completed the LPC, or paid a non-refundable deposit, they will be able to decide between qualifying through the current route (LPC + Training contract) or sitting the SQE.
Once choosing to qualify via the current route by 31 December 2032, candidates will have to:
LLB / GDL
READTraining contract
READREQUIREMENTS
In addition to passing the SQE1 and SQE2,
in order to be admitted to the roll, aspiring
solicitors shoud meet the following
eligibility requirements:
More details here.
The minimum of 2 years’ qualifying work
experience (QWE):
The SRA character and
suitability requirements.
cost
SQE1
SQE2
Cost for sitting both
SQE1 and SQE2
Start gathering the evidence of
your QWE well in advance: talk
to your previous, current or
prospective employers and
explain why you need it.
Try to gain work experience
which will help you to prepare
for the SQE2.
Start your prep right away –
click to read more why and how.
Take advantage of the new
possibilities offered by the SQE
reform:)
OUR SMART
COURSE
who we are
This course was set up by Dr Olga
Pogrebennyk as preparation for the QLTS
OSCE – the examination for foreign-qualified
lawyers seeking admission as solicitors of
England and Wales.
Today we have become a multicultural team
committed to building professional expertise
and creating professional opportunities for
would-be solicitors. The vast majority of our
tutoring solicitors have been admitted as
solicitors of England and Wales via the
Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme, and are
now practicing English law.
Prior to becoming practising solicitors, some
members of our team completed a legal
practice course (LPC) at such universities as:
what we offer
SQE1 prep and SQE2 training
Get the prep tailored to your individual needs
with our Smart training course:
why prepare for
the SQE with us?
This course started as preparation for the QLTS
OSCE – the bar exam for foreign-qualified
lawyers seeking admission as solicitors of
England and Wales. Over the years of
operation, we have accumulated personal
experience and built professional expertise
critical to a successful preparation for an exam
as challenging as the SQE. Our SQE training
incorporates the best practices we have
developed on the way from the QLTS OSCE to
the new superexam.
At the core of Smart methodology is practice-
based learning – the learning that happens
through exposure to practical tasks, when
taking risks, making wrong choices and looking
for ways to remedy the problem help learners
to develop comprehension and build long-term
knowledge. Our methodology allows
candidates not only to develop their
professional skills, but also identify and bridge
gaps in their legal knowledge. The same
methodology is currently being used for the
QLTS OSCE preparation – which is conducted
via simulations, with candidates led through
different online mock stations (both oral and
written), followed by individual feedback from
interviewers and tutoring solicitors.
Recognising the value of online learning, we
have moved OSCEsmart services to an original
platform specifically designed for the purposes
of SQE training. The new platform has been
successfully tested since April 2020.
SQE1
Description
All FLK is assessed in substantive law (LLB/GDL level), and across five practice areas. This is quite different from the QLTS MCT, which is focused on substantive law only.
Each MCQ may test either a particular subject area, or a combination of subjects within the respective block.
Thorough preparation for SQE1, besides learning the core principles of English and Welsh law, also presupposes acquiring deep functional knowledge. In other words, SQE1 will assess your understanding of the law through your ability to apply it to the facts at hand.
SQE2
Description
SQE2 is designed to test practical legal skills across 5 practice contexts (practice areas).
It is worth noting that a question in one context may draw on the candidate’s knowledge in another area of law. Additionally, something we have learnt from extensive training for the QLTS OSCE is that the knowledge of substantive law also is tested – based on which we strongly recommend revising it.
PRICES &
PACKAGES
Sample price
breakdown
SQE Live Lectures
| SQE SUBJECTS | LIVE LECTURES | NO OF SESSIONS | PRICE PER SESSION, £ | TOTAL PRICE, £ |
| Business Law and Practice | ✓ | 3 | 45 | 135 |
| Dispute Resolution | ✓ | 3 | 45 | 135 |
| Contract | ✓ | 2 | 45 | 90 |
| Tort | ✓ | 2 | 45 | 90 |
| Property Practice | ✓ | 3 | 45 | 135 |
| Wills and the Administration of Estates | ✓ | 2 | 45 | 90 |
| Solicitors Accounts | ✓ | 1 | 45 | 45 |
| Land Law | ✓ | 2 | 45 | 90 |
| Trust | ✓ | 2 | 45 | 90 |
| Criminal Law | ✓ | 2 | 45 | 90 |
| Criminal Practice | ✓ | 3 | 45 | 135 |
| Constitutional and Administrative Law | ✓ | 1 | 45 | 45 |
| EU Law | ✓ | 1 | 45 | 45 |
| English Legal System (pre-recorded) | ✓ | 1 | free | N/A |
| Legal Services (pre-recorded) | ✓ | 1 | free | N/A |
| TOTAL | 29 | 1215 | ||
| Package Discount | -20% |
Please note, number of sessions can vary depending on individual needs
sqe1+sqe2
package
| Business Law and Practice | 3 |
| Dispute Resolution | 3 |
| Contract | 2 |
| Tort | 2 |
| Property Practice | 3 |
| Wills and the Administration of Estates | 2 |
| Solicitors Accounts | 1 |
| Land law | 2 |
| Trust | 2 |
| Criminal Law | 2 |
| Criminal Practice | 3 |
| Constitutional and Administrative Law | 1 |
| EU Law | 1 |
| English Legal System (pre-recorded) | 1 |
| Legal Services (pre-recorded) | 1 |
| TOTAL | £1215 |
| Package Discount | -20% |
| SQE Skills Pack | |
| Legal writing set of lectures | 1 |
| Legal drafting lecture | 6 |
| Client interview set of lectures | 1 |
| Advocacy set of lectures | 1 |
| Online Seminar Group Session | 5 |
| Live-stream mock demo (Legal Theatre) | 1 |
| One-to-One SQE2 Mock Sessions | |
| Client interview | 3 |
| Attendance note individually marked | 2 |
| Attendance note suggested answer | 1 |
| Advocacy | 2 |
| Matter analysis | 3 |
| Legal writing | 2 |
| Legal drafting | 1 |
| Legal research | 1 |
| Law notes | 5 practice areas |
| SQE1 + SQE2 PACKAGE | |
| Price, £ | |
| SQE1 LIVE LECTURES PACKAGE | 972 |
| SQE2 PACKAGE | 1885 |
| TOTAL | 2857 |
| Package Discount | -9% |
| OUP Prep & Practice (manual with 1200 tests from Oxford University Press) | £450 |
| TOTAL: | £3000 |
non-package mocks
Conducting a few stand-alone mocks seems a
better idea than risking your time, money and
professional reputation.
BULK DISCOUNTS
SQE NEWS
Please stay tuned for the latest
news and developments.
January SQE1 results published
Results for the October SQE2
Booking for the April 2023 SQE2 is open
July SQE1 results released
Results for the April SQE2
Admission date extended for QLTS
Booking for the July 2022 SQE1 is open
Booking for SQE2 is open
First SQE1 results are out
First SQE1 assessment
Bookings for April 2022 SQE2 and July 2022 SQE1
OUP introducing ‘SQE Prep & Practise’
Copyright © 2023 OSCEsmart ®.
All rights reserved LEOPINION PTE LTD,
Reg No 201804437K, 21C Simei Street 4,
#09-50 Double Bay Residence, Singapore 528720
