Breaking the SQE2 Resit Trap: Why Doing More of the Same Won’t Work

Many SQE2 resitters fall into the same pattern: they double down on revising legal theory — the area that feels safer and more familiar – while postponing practical exam-style exercises. This creates a false zone of comfort.

This pattern is relevant to first-time takers too, but is particularly visible among resitters. One would expect resitters to perform better than first-time candidates because they already know the exam structure, have seen the stations, and have overcome the fear of the unknown. Yet statistics show the opposite: resitters often underperform compared to first-timers.

They stay there until it’s too late to shift focus to the very skills that the exam actually assesses – or they do irrelevant practice, something we call an ‘imitation of preparation’. This happens when, by all formal signs, you appear to be preparing: spending hours on routine tasks like law revision, handling interviews with a friend or study buddy, making flashcards, arranging group calls to share materials and engage in discussions, drawing charts to stick on the wall, constantly planning but never acting. These activities may feel productive and can have some value, but the danger is that they don’t truly prepare you for the SQE2 – and, even worse, they create the illusion that they do. Ask yourself: am I just repeating what I did for my first SQE2 attempt, only under a different label?

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SQE2 Pass Rates Statistics

Despite being more familiar with the exam, resitters consistently perform worse — and neither SQE2 tips nor tricks alone can save them.
This article explores why — and how to avoid falling into the same trap. We focus on what we call the “zone-of-comfort trap”, which keeps candidates tied to old habits that failed them before.

Before diving deeper into the analysis, let’s first review the official SRA-published pass-rate data from the last four SQE2 sittings:

Source: SRA published reports on SQE2 pass rates: SRA April 2025 results/news & statistical report (overall 82%, first-attempt 84%, counts); SRA January 2025 results/news (overall 75%, first-attempt 77%, counts); SRA October 2024 news & statistical report (overall 81%, first-attempt 83%, counts); SRA July 2024 news & statistical report (overall 74%, first-attempt 77%, counts).

The “*Resitters (derived) pass rate” shows an estimated pass rate for candidates who were not sitting the SQE2 for the first time (i.e., those re-taking after a previous fail). The SRA only publishes: The overall pass rate (all candidates combined), and The first-attempt pass rate. It doesn’t give a separate figure for resitters.

This gives us an approximate percentage of resitters who passed in that sitting. For example, in April 2025:

• Total candidates: 2,753
• First-attempt candidates: 2,577 (pass rate = 84%) → passes ≈ 2,165
• Total passes overall (82%) → ≈ 2,258
• So passes by resitters ≈ 2,258 – 2,165 = 93
• Resitters’ pass rate ≈ 93 ÷ 176 ≈ 52.7%

🔑 In short: it shows how likely it was for resitters (second or later attempt) to pass in that sitting — highlighting how much lower their success rate tends to be compared to first-time candidates.​

Psychological Basis: The “Zone-of-Comfort” SQE2 Trap, Not a Tip

In psychology, this behaviour is related to the “comfort zone” effect — a state where people repeat familiar patterns that feel safe, even if they were previously unsuccessful. A related cognitive bias is known as the “sunk cost fallacy”: having invested time and energy in a method, people resist changing it and keep investing in it, hoping for a better result next time.

A similar notion is captured by the saying often attributed to Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

This comfort-zone pattern has been well-studied in psychology. Several cognitive biases explain why candidates keep repeating the same unproductive methods:

• Escalation of Commitment (Commitment Bias) – Once you’ve invested heavily in a particular way of studying, you feel compelled to continue with it, even if it hasn’t delivered results.
• Status Quo Bias / Psychological Inertia – People prefer sticking with what they know. Changing to a new training approach, such as intensive mocks or live performance feedback, feels uncomfortable and risky.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy – Time and money already spent on books or previous courses feel “too valuable to waste,” so candidates keep using the same materials instead of starting afresh.
• Self-Justification and Cognitive Dissonance – It’s easier to believe that “a little more of the same will work next time” than to admit that a major change in strategy is needed.

All these biases pull candidates back into familiar routines — even when those routines were the reason for failure. This explains why many resitters continue reading more theory or buying yet another set of SQE notes instead of stepping out of their comfort zone into live exam-style practice. For SQE2 resitters, this trap looks like this:

• They stick with book-heavy revision because it feels productive and less stressful than facing live mocks.
• They look for new materials or new providers that still deliver the same comfort-zone approach (more SQE notes, more theory), rather than embracing the discomfort of live, skills-based practice.
• They delay tackling practical exercises until the very last moment — by which time it’s too late to build new habits and strategies.

The outcome is predictable: they repeat the same approach and achieve the same (or worse) results.

Why the Same Approach Fails for SQE2

SQE2 is not a traditional knowledge-based exam. It is built on the Miller Pyramid — also known in medical education as the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) model. It assesses “shows how” you perform as a solicitor, not just what you know.

Here’s why repeating the same knowledge-heavy approach is a mistake:

1. Law Counts for Only 50% of the Marks: SQE2 is assessed 50% on legal knowledge and 50% on practical skills — such as client interviewing, advocacy, drafting, writing, and analysis.
   Merely revising statutes and textbooks or SQE notes will never get you the other 50%.
   
2. You Can Never “Know It All”: No candidate can memorise 100% of all possible sub-topics. Even strong candidates face sub-questions that fall just outside what they revised — this is normal and unavoidable.
   Obsessing over more theory will not guarantee a pass; instead, it can backfire, causing stress or even shock on exam day if the task goes beyond your expectations.
   
3. The Law Mark Itself Has Two Parts: The law element is split into:
   – Legally Correct – providing accurate law for the issue identified.
   – Legally Comprehensive – spotting all relevant issues (including ethics and professional-conduct points, which are often unflagged).
   Many resitters fail not because they don’t know the law, but because they miss issues altogether — meaning their answers cannot be either comprehensive or, sometimes, even correct.
   
4. Application of Law Is a Skill: Over years of doing SQE2 results analyses and running Diagnostic Mocks, we’ve seen that most resitters struggle to apply law to the facts.
   They often write down abstract rules without linking them to the client’s scenario. Assessors cannot award marks that have not been applied to the facts presented. You cannot learn how to do this from a textbook or a lecture — it’s like trying to learn dancing from a manual. It’s simply not an effective method for mastering a practical, skills-based exam like SQE2.

The SQE2 tip is clear: knowledge alone is not a reliable friend in SQE2. You might know the law but still lose marks if you fail to identify hidden issues, miss professional-conduct elements, or do not demonstrate real-time application under pressure. This is why a practice-driven, skills-integrated preparation method is essential.

Skills: The Hidden Scoring Opportunity in SQE2

Unlike the law mark, the skills component of SQE2 is where you can realistically aim for top scores — even full marks in some criteria. This is because the skills tested are predictable and consistent across all stations. Once you know what each criterion requires and how to demonstrate it, you can deliver it every time. Here’s our SQE2 tip for you: focus on practising how to pass the exam.

One of the most powerful examples is client focus — a skill assessed throughout the exam. Many candidates underestimate it or think it’s about being polite. Another key skill is the ability to distinguish legally important facts from irrelevant — or even distracting — facts. This is where interview mock training becomes invaluable. Even if you are already confident at speaking to clients, structured mock interviews teach you how to identify facts that carry legal significance. This skill transfers to every other SQE2 station — from advocacy to case analysis and even drafting — because you learn to focus on what is legally relevant, not just on storytelling.

Another advantage: skills marks are not subject to the same uncertainty as law marks. While your law marks depend partly on which legal sub-topics come up in the exam, skills marks depend on your technique. If you practise correctly, you can consistently achieve 4-5 in skills, which often compensates for inevitable gaps in legal knowledge.

This is why an active, skills-driven preparation plan — especially with live mock interviews led by specially trained lay interviewers and followed by detailed tutor feedback — can significantly raise your overall score and bridge your law-mark gaps. At the Academy of Smart Lawyers, we have a team of specialist tutors for each subject area — because no single tutor can be an expert in everything — and lay interviewers trained to simulate real exam conditions. Our SQE2 tutors have been working with foreign-qualified lawyers since 2018, back when the QLTS OSCE was still in place before being replaced by the SQE — and along the way, they’ve accumulated invaluable SQE2 tips and strategies.

Conclusion: Law Matters — But SQE2 Practice Decides

Law is essential, and you must revise it. But even perfect knowledge won’t guarantee a pass in SQE2. The exam demands QSE2 strategies, that you:

1. Spot the legal issue in the facts, and
2. Apply the law correctly and comprehensively.

Many candidates fail at step 1 or step 2, despite knowing the law. Exam-style practice is the key SQE2 tip to bridging this gap. The most effective preparation combines:

🔺 One-to-one practice at the top of the pyramid — personalised, most impactful, with expert feedback

◀️▶️ Group sessions on the sides (Legal Theatre) — interactive, affordable, good for building confidence under exam conditions

🔻 Self-practice at the base — essential for repetition but least effective on its own

Think of this as your own “Practice Pyramid”, mirroring the Miller Pyramid that underpins SQE2.
The higher you train on the pyramid, the more you develop the “shows-how” competence required in the exam.

At the Academy of Smart Lawyers, we are a one-stop shop for SQE2 preparation. Here’s what makes us different:

• All three types of SQE2 mocks: one-to-one, group sessions, and self-practice — so you can train at every level of the Practice Pyramid.
• First-hand exam experience: many of our tutors sat and passed the SQE2 (and its predecessor, the QLTS OSCE) themselves.
• Almost a decade of expertise: since 2018, we’ve trained foreign-qualified lawyers, domestic candidates, and countless resitters, refining what works in the exam.
• Proven tactics and strategies: we’ve accumulated a large bank of exam techniques to boost your performance under real conditions.
• SUPERexam platform: a dedicated all-in-one study space designed by us for SQE2 simulations and law revision.
• Special offer for resitters: free access to our law materials, including our unique Synopsis Notes, built to make complex topics easier to understand, retain, and apply.

This combination of resources, strategy, and live skills-based training gives you the right SQE2 strategies to bridge gaps in knowledge, master the SQE2 exam technique, and build the confidence required to pass SQE2.

If you’re an SQE2 resitter, remember that you have only three attempts to pass. With every failed attempt, anxiety and pressure increase — so it’s wise to treat your second attempt as if it’s your last. One of our key SQE2 tips is to shift your focus early to realistic, exam-style practice rather than repeating the same book-heavy approach that didn’t work the first time.

If you need help, fill in the form, and we’ll schedule a call to analyse your results and create a tailored preparation plan to give you the best chance of success.

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