SQE2 April 2026 Results: Candidates Notified, Statistical Report Pending

SQE2 Sitting 15 (the April/July 2026 sitting) results were released on 27 August 2026. Candidates received their outcome by email from Kaplan. The SRA's full statistical report, which includes pass rate breakdowns by ethnicity, age, degree class, first language, school type, and assessment provider, has not yet been published.

This post covers what candidates know right now, what the statistical report will add when it lands, how this sitting fits the historical pattern, and the practical next steps depending on your outcome.

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What Candidates Received on 27 August

Individual results come from Kaplan on behalf of the SRA. Every candidate receives a pass or fail determination. Candidates who failed also receive a score report showing their performance across each of the SQE2 competency areas: client interviewing and attendance note, advocacy, case and matter analysis, legal research and written advice, drafting, and legal writing.

The score report is not a granular per-question breakdown. It gives you a competency-level picture of where you fell short. For most candidates who failed, the report shows underperformance in one or two areas rather than across the board. The oral assessments (client interview and advocacy) generate the most variability in scores. Written assessments (drafting, legal research) tend to be more consistent.

If you passed, you received a pass notification without a score. Scores are not shared with passing candidates.

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What the Statistical Report Will Add

The SRA publishes a full statistical report for each SQE2 sitting, but not immediately. For Sitting 14 (January 2026), candidates received results in June 2026 and the statistical report followed. For the April 2026 sitting, the statistical report is expected around late September to mid-October 2026, roughly four to six weeks after results were released.

That report will include:

• Overall pass rate across all candidates in Sitting 15
• First-attempt pass rate for candidates sitting SQE2 for the first time
• Mean score, median score, and standard deviation for the sitting
• Diversity breakdowns: pass rates by ethnicity, age band, degree classification, first language, and school type
• Cohort size: total number of candidates who sat

The overall headline figure is the one that gets the most attention. The diversity breakdown is where the structural patterns in SQE2 outcomes become visible.

Based on every sitting the SRA has reported since 2021, the pattern in the diversity data is consistent: White candidates and younger candidates pass at materially higher rates than Black candidates, candidates aged 35 and above, and 2:2 graduates. Whether Sitting 15 holds to that pattern or shows any narrowing will be clearer once the report is published.

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Historical SQE2 Pass Rates

The table below covers all SQE2 sittings for which the SRA has published statistical reports. The April 2026 sitting is not yet included because the full report is pending.

Source: SRA SQE2 statistical reports. First-attempt breakdowns not available for all sittings.

The historical range across all published SQE2 sittings is 73 to 84 percent. April sittings have tended toward the higher end of that range: April 2025 produced an 82% overall pass rate and a record 84% first-attempt rate. Whether April 2026 continues that pattern is unknown until the statistical report arrives.

The first-attempt rate has been remarkably stable across the last three published sittings (79% in each of July 2025, October 2025, and January 2026), which suggests a consistent pool of first-time candidates rather than any structural shift in the difficulty of the assessment.

No specific pass rate for April 2026 is available at this stage. Anyone publishing a figure is speculating. The SRA has not released aggregate data alongside individual results.

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If You Passed

Passing SQE2 means you have met the competency standard for legal practice set by the SRA. It does not, on its own, mean you are admitted as a solicitor. Admission requires a separate SRA application.

The key steps after passing SQE2:

1. Confirm your qualifying work experience is complete. You need a minimum of two years of qualifying work experience (QWE). This can run concurrently with your SQE preparation, so many candidates will already have this in place. If your QWE is not yet complete, admission cannot proceed until it is.

2. Apply to the SRA for admission. The application is made through the SRA's online portal. You will need to confirm your QWE, provide character and suitability declarations, and submit supporting documents. The SRA processes most straightforward applications within four to six weeks, though complex applications or those requiring additional checks take longer.

3. Character and suitability. The SRA reviews your declaration of any criminal convictions, financial history, or other matters relevant to fitness to practise. Most candidates with no relevant history pass through this stage without issue.

For a detailed breakdown of the admission process and realistic timelines, see SRA admission after SQE2.

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If You Failed

Failing SQE2 is not unusual. Even at an 80% overall pass rate, one in five candidates does not pass. At the lower end of the historical range (74%), more than one in four candidates fails. You are not in a small minority.

What you need to do now:

1. Read your score report carefully. The competency-level breakdown tells you where the marks were lost. If you underperformed in client interviewing and advocacy, the problem is almost certainly the oral assessment format under timed conditions, not your underlying legal knowledge. If you underperformed in drafting or legal research, there is a more specific content and structure issue to address. The report is directional, not diagnostic, but it narrows the preparation focus considerably.

2. Register for a resit. SQE2 sittings run approximately four times per year. Based on the current examination calendar, the next available sitting after April/July 2026 is expected in October 2026. Registration typically opens several months in advance and closes well before the sitting date. Check SQE exam dates for confirmed registration windows.

3. Budget for the resit fee. The SQE2 sitting fee is currently £3,086. This covers all five assessment days. There are no partial resit options: you sit the full assessment regardless of which competency areas you failed.

4. Rebuild your preparation around the format. The data from every published SQE2 sitting points to the same pattern: candidates who fail are not typically failing because they lack legal knowledge. They are failing because they have not practised the specific format of the assessment under timed conditions. Timed oral role-plays, structured written tasks with strict time limits, and embedded ethics obligations that are not flagged in the task brief are the three main sources of failure. A revision plan that addresses format as seriously as content is the difference for most resitters.

The SQE revision timetable tool can help you build a structured preparation schedule around the time you have before your next sitting date.

For a detailed breakdown of what resitting involves, including the procedural steps, preparation strategy, and realistic timelines, see what happens if you fail SQE2.

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When to Expect the Full Statistical Report

Based on the SRA's publication pattern for previous sittings, the April 2026 statistical report is likely to be published between late September and mid-October 2026. There is no fixed publication date for statistical reports and the SRA does not typically announce a date in advance.

When the report is published, it will appear on the SRA's website under the SQE research and statistics section. This page will be updated with a full analysis of the data, including the diversity breakdowns, as soon as the report is available.

The figures worth watching when the report lands:

• The overall pass rate and how it sits within the 73 to 84 percent historical range
• The first-attempt rate and whether it continues the 79% run from the last three sittings
• The ethnicity breakdown, specifically the gap between White and Black candidates (35 percentage points in January 2026)
• The age breakdown, particularly performance among candidates aged 35 and above
• The 2:2 graduate pass rate, which has consistently tracked below 55% across recent sittings

These are the numbers that tell you whether SQE2 is functioning as a competency assessment or as something that continues to reproduce structural inequalities in access to the profession.

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Bottom Line

April 2026 SQE2 results are out. Candidates know their outcome. The full picture, including the overall pass rate and diversity breakdowns, comes with the statistical report in four to six weeks.

If you passed: confirm your QWE and begin your SRA admission application. If you failed: read the score report, register for the next sitting, and rebuild your preparation around the assessment format rather than content volume alone.

For historical pass rate context across all SQE assessments, see SQE pass rates.

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This page will be updated when the SRA publishes the full SQE2 April 2026 statistical report.

Previous: SQE2 January 2026 results analysis