By Charlie Car Michael And Sammie Jones-
The new ‘super-exam’ for aspiring solicitors will cost between £3,000 and £4,500, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has said.
The exam is to be rolled out in September 2021, 12 months later than originally thought. This followed feedback from education providers and law firms who indicated a ‘strong preference’ for a 2021 launch, the SRA said. Some law firms are already complaining that the costs are too high and are unfair to potential applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The first section of the tests known as the SQE 1 is designed to test legal knowledge through a series of computer-based assessments. It will cost between £1,100 – £1,650. Fees for SQE 2, which will test practical legal skills, will range between £1,900 and £2,850.
The pilot for SQE 1 will include 360 questions split over three separate examination papers, rather than 680 questions split over six exam papers. The SRA said the amount of material covered would not change.
The SRA hopes the SQE will address the problem that arises when students have to pay large up-front costs that go as high up as £16,700, for a Legal Practice Course, with no guarantee of a training contract or becoming a solicitor at the end.
Under the scheme, students who began a qualifying law degree or law conversion before September 2021 will have 11 years within which to decide under which system they want to qualify the old system or the new system. After September 2021 all other aspiring solicitors would need to qualify through the SQE.
Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ‘We have listened to law firms and universities, who have told us that 2021 gives them the right amount of time to prepare. Our priority is creating a rigorous, value for money assessment that drives consistent high standards.’
The SRA and educational services provider Kaplan, which will launch the candidate recruitment for a pilot of SQE 1 later this month, stand by their decision to
A Law Society spokesperson said the most important thing was to get SQE right, and if more time is needed to ensure the profession and education providers are able to prepare, deferring the introduction was a sensible step.
‘The provisional fees provided by the SRA today represent a great deal of money,’ she added. ‘There is as yet no funding mechanism to provide loans for SQE assessments, so any fees will have to be self-funded by candidates or firms, which would disadvantage students with less financial means.
‘In the current system candidates can get a loan to take the LPC, and a similar solution must be found for the SQE so that all candidates, regardless of background, can qualify as a solicitor.’