Kaplan SQE Marking Error: How 175 Candidates Were Wrongly Told They Failed

Today - 10 March 2026 - thousands of candidates who sat the January 2026 SQE1 are logging into their accounts to see their results. As they do, it is worth knowing what happened the last time Kaplan got it seriously wrong.

In April 2024, it emerged that 175 candidates who sat the January 2024 SQE1 had been incorrectly told they failed the exam. Some had their training contracts rescinded. Some had started to plan their next sitting. Some may have considered leaving law entirely.

The SRA's chief executive called it "probably the most serious operational mistake we've made in the last two and a half years."

Kaplan offered £250.

Here is the full story.

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What Happened

The January 2024 SQE1 sitting had 6,626 candidates. When results came out, 175 of them received a failure notification. They had, in fact, passed.

The technical cause was specific to the January 2024 sitting. That was the first time the SRA presented SQE1 results as a standardised score out of 500 rather than a raw percentage. Kaplan's marking process required the percentage mark to be rounded up or down before being converted to the new standardised score. They did not do this. The result: some candidates' scores were out by up to five marks - enough to flip a marginal pass into a fail.

The error only came to light because candidates started appealing. Kaplan's review of disputed papers uncovered the rounding mistake. The question that should make you uneasy: if no one had appealed, it might never have been found.

Zoe Robinson, Managing Director of Kaplan, later confirmed that the rounding issue affected a "significant" proportion of the 6,626 candidates - not just the 175 who were flipped from pass to fail. Another 303 candidates moved up into a higher score quintile; 164 moved into a lower one. No one who passed was wrongly told they had failed.

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The Impact on Candidates

The City of London Law Society's training committee confirmed what many feared:

"We anticipate that this will include proactive and speedy consideration of reinstatement of the employment status of impacted candidates, including those for whom employment has been terminated and/or offers/training contracts rescinded."

The committee noted affected candidates fell into several categories:

• Training contracts rescinded after receiving a failure notification
• Employment terminated immediately
• Start dates deferred by months
• Some candidates who may have abandoned their legal career on the basis of a false result
• Others who relocated or made life decisions around a result that was wrong
• Career progression set back by up to a year for those who had already begun preparing for a resit

Legal Cheek reported that graduate recruitment teams at affected firms were "desperately trying to figure out what to do" and considering options for reinstatement. For obvious reasons, neither Legal Cheek nor the City of London Law Society named specific firms or candidates.

There were also 22 candidates who had registered for the April 2024 SQE2 - believing they had failed SQE1, they were blocked from sitting SQE2 (since passing SQE1 is a prerequisite). Those 22 had to wait for a later sitting.

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The SRA's Response

Paul Philip, Chief Executive of the SRA, issued a public statement:

"We are really disappointed by this error and apologise to the candidates who have been affected. This is the most serious operational mistake that we've made in the last two and a half years. Our immediate priority has been making sure the error has been put right as swiftly as possible, and the impact on candidates is recognised and addressed. We will be doing a full review with Kaplan of how the error occurred, and redoubling efforts on assurance."

When asked directly whether Kaplan deserved to have its contract to run the SQE renewed, Philip's response was notably non-committal: "I think this is something that we'll reflect on."

Kaplan's Zoe Robinson said: "We are committed to putting this right for candidates, and sincerely regret and apologise for the impact."

An independent review was subsequently commissioned by Kaplan. It confirmed in May 2024 that the reissued results were accurate.

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The Compensation: £250

Kaplan offered each affected candidate a £250 goodwill payment.

For context:

• The SQE1 exam fee at the time was £1,798
• If a candidate needed to resit, that was another £1,798
• The SQE2 fee was £2,766
• A training contract withdrawn could cost a candidate a full year of salary - for a City firm, typically £45,000–£50,000 in the first year

The City of London Law Society indicated £250 was, to put it diplomatically, unlikely to be sufficient. Kaplan did offer case-by-case reviews for candidates who could demonstrate specific financial or career losses, handled via SQE1Jan24@kaplan.co.uk. How many cases were resolved satisfactorily, and for how much, has not been publicly reported.

The 22 candidates prevented from sitting April 2024 SQE2 were offered a free sitting at a later date, plus priority booking. That is a more meaningful remedy - but it still cost those candidates months.

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How SQE Results Are Normally Released

Understanding the standard process helps make sense of how an error like this can cause so much damage.

After each SQE1 sitting:

1. Kaplan marks all papers. SQE1 consists of 360 multiple-choice questions across two papers (FLK1 and FLK2). Kaplan administers, marks, and scores everything.
2. Results are uploaded to candidate accounts. The SRA sends each candidate an email on results day directing them to log into their SQE candidate account. Results are not sent directly by email - only the notification is.
3. Results can be saved as a PDF from the candidate account for use with firms, the SRA admissions process, and so on.
4. The timeline is 5–6 weeks after the sitting for SQE1; 14–18 weeks for SQE2.

Critically: firms often ask candidates to self-certify their result as soon as possible. Many training contracts have clauses requiring candidates to notify the firm promptly if they fail. Kaplan's error activated those clauses before anyone knew the result was wrong.

For current sitting dates and results release dates, see our SQE exam dates guide →

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What This Means for January 2026 Candidates

If you are checking results today, a few practical points:

If you pass: Download your results PDF immediately and save it to multiple locations. You will need it for SRA admission, for firms, and for QWE sign-off purposes.

If you fail: Do not notify your firm before checking whether you want to appeal. You have the right to appeal your results. An appeal involves a clerical check (marking errors, administrative mistakes) and is not a re-mark. Given what happened in January 2024, it is reasonable to use the appeal process if your result seems wrong or your score is close to the pass mark.

If your result seems inconsistent with your preparation: Request a breakdown. Quintile scores are now published, giving you more granular information than a simple pass/fail.

If your firm has already been told: The City of London Law Society's guidance from 2024 still stands - firms should not make irreversible career decisions on the basis of a single exam result before appeals have been exhausted. If your firm has moved to rescind your TC, consider whether to raise the 2024 precedent.

For context on what the results mean and what your next steps might be, see our SQE explained guide → and pass rates page →.

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Timeline of the 2024 Error

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Has It Happened Again?

As of the time of writing (March 2026), there has been no reported repeat of the January 2024 marking error. The SRA and Kaplan both pledged full reviews and process improvements. An independent review did confirm the reissued results in May 2024.

However, some structural concerns remain. The SRA still relies solely on Kaplan to administer and mark the exam. Kaplan won the contract at least in part because the original preferred assessors withdrew. There is no public auditing of Kaplan's marking methodology between sittings. And as the 2024 error showed, systemic mistakes can go undetected until candidates complain.

The SRA's data collection failures - it took until March 2026 to fix how it collects preparation data, three years after promising provider-level pass rates - suggest that operational rigour has not always been the SRA's strongest suit.

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What To Do If You Think Your Result Is Wrong

1. Do not act on the result immediately. Wait before notifying your firm, deferring plans, or paying for a resit.
2. Request a clerical check or appeal through your SQE candidate account. There is a fee, which is refunded if the outcome changes.
3. Check your quintile score. If your standardised score is close to the pass mark, an appeal is worth pursuing.
4. Contact your firm before any decisions are made. Cite the 2024 precedent if relevant.
5. Contact the City of London Law Society if your TC is at risk - they have offered to engage with employers on this issue.
6. Share your experience - anonymously if you prefer - via our student survey →. We track all major SQE issues.

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What We Believe Should Change

This is an independent site. We have no relationship with Kaplan or the SRA. Our view:

£250 is not adequate compensation for a candidate who loses a training contract worth £45,000 and a year of career progression because of an administrative error. The SRA's "case-by-case review" offer was appropriate in principle but has never been publicly accounted for - neither the number of cases resolved nor the amounts paid.

The SRA should mandate that Kaplan publish its full marking process, including any changes made after the 2024 error, so that independent verification is possible. If the SRA can require candidates to complete a survey before accessing their results, it can require its examining body to document and disclose its process.

Until then, if your result seems wrong: appeal first, update your firm second.

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Were you affected by the 2024 Kaplan error, or do you have concerns about your 2026 results? Share your experience anonymously →

Compare all SQE providers and their pass rates at thequalifiedpath.co.uk/providers →