The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has appointed Kaplan as the assessment organisation to develop and run the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).
Selected following a rigorous, year-long process, Kaplan provides education, training and assessment across professional services, including in law, financial services, accountancy and banking. It has direct experience of assessment within the legal sector in England and Wales as the provider of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS). Kaplan will not provide training for the SQE.
The SRA and Kaplan will work with stakeholders from across the legal and education sectors to develop and test the SQE. Kaplan will then run the SQE on behalf of the SRA. They have been appointed for a period of eight years from the introduction of the SQE.
The SQE will provide a single common assessment for all aspiring solicitors. It will be introduced, at the earliest, in September 2020. The costs of the assessment will be determined once the final design is fixed, although the SRA is aiming to provide guidance on indicative costs before then.
Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to appoint Kaplan after a robust, competitive and open process. Their bid succeeded against some very strong competition.
“We are now another step closer to delivering a rigorous assessment that helps build trust that all qualifying solicitors are meeting the same high standards, regardless of their route into the profession.”
Peter Houillon, Chief Executive Officer, Kaplan: “Kaplan is thrilled to have been selected to run the SQE on behalf of the SRA and build on our partnership founded in the delivery of the QLTS. We look forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to build and deliver a world class Solicitors Qualifying Examination.”
The starting point for developing, testing and piloting the SQE will be the ‘Draft Assessment Specification’, which the SRA published in June 2017:
www.sra.org.uk/sra/policy/sqe/research-reports.page
As well as further building trust and confidence in professional standards, the SQE will also support wider access to the profession, by making sure that all the different routes to entry, including 'earn as you learn' pathways such as apprenticeships, are tested in the exactly the same way.
It will also remove the need for would-be solicitors to pay significant up-front costs, often up to £16,000, to take the Legal Practice Course, which offers no guarantee of a training contract or qualification as a solicitor.
The SRA has also confirmed that it has been approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships as the external quality assurance body for the solicitor
apprenticeship. In this role it will be responsible for making sure that the apprenticeship standard and assessment plan are fit-for-purpose and that the assessment that apprentices do at the end of their apprenticeship is fair, consistent, and rigorous. Kaplan will be applying in due course to be the end point assessment organisation for the solicitor apprenticeship.
Last year around 100 people started the solicitor apprenticeship route.
Notes to Editors
1. The SRA is the regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, protecting consumers and supporting the rule of law and the administration of justice. The SRA does this by overseeing all education and training requirements necessary to practise as a solicitor, licensing individuals and firms to practise, setting the standards of the profession and regulating and enforcing compliance against these standards. Further information is available at www.sra.org.uk
2. About Kaplan
Kaplan is a leading education and assessment provider operating in more than 30 countries, offering professional education, test preparation, English-language training, university preparation, and higher education. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and its largest division.
3. Contact the SRA press office on 0121 329 6428/07865 728165