What’s your background, and why did you decide to do the SQE?

I have a strong background in sport and initially didn’t consider a career in law until I was 19 or 20. I told myself that if I was still interested in pursuing law after completing my undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Science, I would go on to study the Law and Legal Practice Course with SQE1 Prep – the newer version of the GDL, which includes preparation for the SQE1 exam. Just before I graduated, I became certain that I wanted to pursue a legal career, so I applied for the Master’s course. Although the LPC was still an option, I believed the SQE route would be more attractive to law firms and make me a more desirable training contract candidate.

How did you prepare, and what made the biggest difference in your success?

Alongside my SQE1 prep course, I committed to full-time revision. I structured my days to mirror a typical working schedule, studying from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. While I understand this may not be feasible for all SQE students, especially those balancing jobs, I would highly recommend it if you’re studying full time.

I began with the limited set of practice questions provided by my law school, along with those available on the SRA website—around 500 in total. To supplement this, I incorporated Law Drill questions into my routine. I started by answering about 10 questions per day during my commute and gradually increased this to 100 per day in the final month before the exam. In the last few weeks, I also completed two full mock exams for both FLK1 and FLK2.

I genuinely believe that the volume of practice questions I completed played a key role in helping me pass the exam. Don’t practice questions until you get it right, practice them until you can’t get them wrong.

What was the hardest part, and how did you push through it?

The hardest part of the SQE1 was covering the sheer volume of content as it’s the largest syllabus I’ve ever studied. What ultimately got me through was answering a relentless number of practice questions. That consistent recall helped solidify my understanding far more effectively than the previous passive revision done.

If you had to do it again, what would you do differently?

I would recommend focusing more on practice questions than trying to master all of the content in depth. It’s far better to review smaller amounts of knowledge more frequently than to “cram” one topic and neglect the others.

Ideally, you’d have a deep understanding of every area all the time—but that’s simply not realistic. The SQE is intentionally designed to be more challenging than the LPC, and the pass rates reflect that. To succeed, breadth and consistency in practice are key.

Any final piece of advice for SQE candidates?

Work-life balance is crucial. Make sure to take time to recharge every now and then. Burnout is a real risk when preparing for the SQE. It’s natural for the workload to ramp up closer to the exam, but try to manage this with a realistic revision timetable. Don’t glue yourself to your desk from day one; pacing yourself is just as important as working hard.

The SQE is designed to test even the most intelligent participants. If it was easy everyone would do it!

Best of luck- you can do this!