SQE Journeys / Tips (July 2026 Exam)

[futuretraineesolicitor]

That's it. BARBRI 40-week SQE 1 Prep Course completed.

380/400 hours, but the final 20 is designated self-directed learning (which I will do anyway). So I'm calling it.

After completing three degrees in arts and humanities, I knew what I was buying when it came to retraining as a solicitor. No real surprises in the way things went... transferrable experiences assisted with business law and disputes; cultural awareness supported E&W legal system and constitutional law; criminal law was a pleasant change of pace; tort and contract became challenging in the details; prior charity finance training with ILM boosted wills and estates; tax was hard, but strangely pleasing when the numbers started to add up.

Although my practice scores have been encouraging, I don't plan to take it easy in the run up to the summer exams. Over the next month or so I will finish the Revise SQE series, complete the QLTS mocks and whittle down my remaining flashcards.

Good luck to the rest of the July cohort!

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Hello Will! I hope you're doing well. Just had a question around Barbri and Revise SQE. I have heard that the content that Barbri offers is pretty similar to revise sqe books so i had the following questions in particular and I'd be grateful if you could pls answer:
1- would u say it is redundant to buy revise sqe books if we are going to be on barbri?

2- are u using revise sqe books just to make up for things that barbri might miss (because ive heard that barbri doesnt cover some topics in enough depth)

3- besides barbri and revise sqe, are u doing mocks from any other resources?

Thanks in advance

 

[WillKitchen]

Hello Will! I hope you're doing well. Just had a question around Barbri and Revise SQE. I have heard that the content that Barbri offers is pretty similar to revise sqe books so i had the following questions in particular and I'd be grateful if you could pls answer:
1- would u say it is redundant to buy revise sqe books if we are going to be on barbri?

2- are u using revise sqe books just to make up for things that barbri might miss (because ive heard that barbri doesnt cover some topics in enough depth)

3- besides barbri and revise sqe, are u doing mocks from any other resources?

Thanks in advance

Hi, thanks for the questions - happy to help!

1. No, buying both is not redundant. I would not feel nearly as prepared without having read both.

Connecting this to 2., it is true that Barbri does skip some topics or details that are less likely in their judgment to be tested; what Revise SQE is good at is placing some of the rules in additional case law context, which does make it more memorable.

3. I also completed the SRA practice and pre-tested sets, and my plan is to do QLTS in the next few weeks. That might be all I have time for before the July exam.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hi, thanks for the questions - happy to help!

1. No, buying both is not redundant. I would not feel nearly as prepared without having read both.

Connecting this to 2., it is true that Barbri does skip some topics or details that are less likely in their judgment to be tested; what Revise SQE is good at is placing some of the rules in additional case law context, which does make it more memorable.

3. I also completed the SRA practice and pre-tested sets, and my plan is to do QLTS in the next few weeks. That might be all I have time for before the July exam.

this was so helpful. thanks a ton! just another follow up question pls, i know this question is kinda weird and not very easy to answer but i'll ask anyway, how many hours a day over how many months have u been studying?

 

[WillKitchen]

this was so helpful. thanks a ton! just another follow up question pls, i know this question is kinda weird and not very easy to answer but i'll ask anyway, how many hours a day over how many months have u been studying?

I did try to work it out, but it’s not that easy, of course! I did 6/7 days per week studying for at least 2 hours a day on the Barbri system for 40 weeks. That does not include Revise SQE reading. I also probably did about 6-12 hours of extra flashcard work per week.

 

[WillKitchen]

On paper that’s a minimum of 18 hours a week, but the average is going to be more than that.