When the SQE give you lemons...

[traineedreamer]

I have gone back and forth about whether to write this post, partly because I am still processing everything myself. But I know how much I have valued reading honest experiences on this forum over the years, particularly when things have not gone to plan, so I thought it might be helpful to share mine.

I failed SQE1 twice, and as a result, I lost my training contract.

That sentence is still quite difficult to write.

It took me seven years and five application cycles to secure that training contract. There were countless applications, rejections, assessment centres, interviews and moments where I wondered whether it was ever going to happen for me. When I finally received the offer, it felt like seven years of perseverance had paid off so losing it has been incredibly difficult.

For now, I have decided to take a break from the SQE. I need some time to regather myself, recharge, and work out what the next chapter looks like without immediately throwing myself back into revision mode. I know that I will take my third and final SQE1 attempt, I just don't know when yet.

With a little distance from exam prep, there are a few things I have been reflecting on that I hope might help someone else.

Pace yourself​

Before starting the SQE, I had been out of formal education for around eight years. I had spent those years working, including several years as a Paralegal, and I underestimated how significant the adjustment back into full-time studying would be. Ironically, years of Paralegalling felt like a breeze in comparison.

The pace of the SQE is relentless. There is a huge amount of information to learn, retain and apply, and I think I expected myself to immediately return to the version of me who had completed a law degree years earlier. I wish I had given myself more grace during that transition.

Looking back, I probably needed more time than I allowed myself to understand how I learn now, rather than expecting myself to study exactly as I did during my undergraduate degree.

Be willing to change how you study​

One of my biggest lessons has been not to become too attached to the idea of having a particular "learning style".

I went into the SQE with strong ideas about how I learned best because those methods had worked for me at university. When something had previously worked, it felt logical to continue doing it. But the SQE is a very different exam. Knowing the law is important, but so is being able to recognise how the SRA can test that law in an MCQ, distinguish between two (or more) very similar and plausible answers and apply large amounts of knowledge quickly under pressure.

If I could go back, I would have adapted much sooner. I would have spent less time trying to make my old study methods fit the SQE and more time experimenting with active recall, question practice and different ways of identifying my weak areas. For my first sitting, I felt like there was no point starting question practice when I didn't feel like my FLK was where it needed to be, but in hindsight, I should have disregarded that fear and started MCQ practice earlier.

There is no prize for sticking rigidly to a revision method that is not producing the results you need.

Ask for help before you reach breaking point​

I was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago, in adulthood, and after failing my first sitting I was also trying to navigate medication titration while preparing for my resit.

That experience has made me think a lot about reasonable adjustments and support.

If you think you may be entitled to reasonable adjustments, please look into them. If you are struggling, tell your provider. Speak to your GP or another relevant professional where appropriate. Ask questions. Use the support that is available to you.

You do not need to prove that you can do everything the hardest possible way.

There were times when I worried about how asking for additional support, more time or a deferral might affect my training contract. In hindsight, I wish I had been less afraid of that.

If you are not ready, seriously consider whether you should sit​

This is probably my biggest reflection.

Before my first sitting, part of me knew that I was not where I wanted to be. But when your course and exams are being sponsored by a future employer, it can feel incredibly difficult to say, "I don't think I am ready."

I worried about what asking to defer might mean. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had raised the conversation. I cannot say whether a deferral would ultimately have changed what happened. But I do know that protecting an attempt at an exam where you only have three chances is important.

If you genuinely do not feel ready, particularly where there are health, disability or significant personal circumstances involved, have the conversation. Do not let fear of appearing incapable stop you from explaining what you need.

At best, they say yes and you give yourself the time you need. At worst, they say no and you do what you can to keep pushing and hope for the best!

Find resources that work for you​

One resource I found particularly helpful was Revise SQE.

I made use of it later in my preparation for my second sitting, and its contents suited me much better than some of the content I had previously been using from my main course provider. With more time, and less burnout, I genuinely think it could have helped push me over the line.

That is another lesson I am taking forward: your main course provider does not have to be the only resource you use. Sometimes another explanation, platform or style of question is what finally makes something click.

Equally, what works brilliantly for someone else may not work for you. The important thing is to pay attention to whether a resource is actually helping you understand, retain and apply the material.

Failing does not erase everything that came before it​

This is the lesson I am still trying to teach myself.

Coming to terms with losing my training contract has made the effort of the last seven years feel as though they have disappeared overnight.

But they have not.

I still secured the training contract. I still made it through the application process after years of trying. I still gained years of legal experience along the way. I still received the offer that I once thought might never come.

An exam result can change your route, sometimes very painfully, but it cannot retrospectively take those things away from you.

For anyone reading this after failing the SQE, particularly if there are consequences attached to that result, I know that being told to "just keep going" or to "consider something else" can sometimes feel hollow when you are in the middle of it.

So I am not going to pretend that I have immediately bounced back; I haven't.

I am taking some time to wallow in bed, be disappointed, to rest, to rebuild my confidence and to decide what I want my next few years to look like.

But I also know this: I am not finished.

At some point, when I feel ready, I think I will sit SQE1 for the third time.

I do not think it will be the next available sitting, but rather further down the line. This time, I want the decision to be based on whether I am genuinely ready rather than on fear, pressure or an arbitrary timeline.

Seven years and five application cycles taught me that my route into the profession was never going to be particularly straightforward. Apparently, it still isn't.

But I have come too far to believe that one very difficult chapter has to be the end of the story.

So, if you are reading this after a failed attempt, a lost opportunity or a setback that has completely changed the plan you had for yourself: take the time you need. Regroup. Rest. Ask for help. Change your strategy. Take a different route if you need to.

And when you are ready, try again.

I know I will.