More than 15 years of helping candidates qualify as solicitors of England and Wales — first through the QLTS, now through the SQE.
QLTS School is a specialist preparation provider for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), the route to qualifying as a solicitor of England and Wales. The SQE is our sole focus.
Founded in 2011, we have spent more than 15 years preparing candidates for the QLTS and, since 2021, the SQE. Over that time we have helped thousands of candidates qualify as solicitors, supported students in dozens of countries, and built a community of more than 40,000 past, present and prospective candidates on LinkedIn.
QLTS School was founded by a group of lawyers in 2011. The same year, the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) was introduced by the SRA as the fast-track route for foreign-qualified lawyers to qualify as solicitors of England and Wales.
The QLTS was a demanding, in-depth assessment, and aspiring solicitors from abroad needed serious preparation to pass it. Our founders started QLTS School with a clear purpose: to give foreign-qualified lawyers the structured, exam-focused preparation that the new route demanded.
Over the next decade we became one of the leading preparation providers in the field. By the time the QLTS closed to new candidates, thousands of foreign-qualified lawyers had qualified after preparing with QLTS School, many on their first attempt.
In 2015, the SRA announced its plan to replace the QLTS and to overhaul the wider route to qualification with the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The new assessment applies to all aspiring solicitors of England and Wales, not only foreign-qualified lawyers.
The SQE was introduced in 2021. It shares many design principles with the QLTS, particularly its emphasis on the application of legal knowledge under exam conditions and its single-best-answer assessment format, and was the natural next step for QLTS School’s expertise.
We refined our study materials, expanded our faculty and built out a full SQE preparation programme covering both stages of the assessment. The expertise that built our QLTS courses transferred directly into our SQE offering: the assessment changed; the underlying skill of preparing candidates for exam-style legal practice did not.
Our team brings together specialists who have spent their careers in legal education, professional assessment and legal practice in England and Wales.
Our academic faculty includes English-qualified solicitors and barristers, legal academics and exam specialists who have worked across the QLTS and the SQE. Our tutors support candidates at every stage of preparation, from first study session through to exam day, and our advisers help prospective candidates work out the most efficient route into qualification for their background.
More than 40,000 past, present and prospective SQE candidates are part of our LinkedIn community, which is one of the largest professional networks for aspiring solicitors of England and Wales. It is a place to ask questions, share experiences and stay connected to candidates going through the same process.
Our alumni go on to careers in private practice, in-house legal teams, government and international organisations across the UK and around the world. Many continue to engage with us — referring colleagues, contributing to our content and joining sessions for current candidates.
Three principles shape how we build our courses:
The SQE rewards accurate application of legal knowledge under strict time pressure. Knowing the law is necessary but not sufficient. Our preparation puts realistic mock testing and exam technique at the centre of the programme.
In the July 2023 SQE1 assessment, 94% of QLTS candidates who completed 25 or more mock tests and reported their results passed — compared to the SRA’s overall pass rate of 53% for that sitting. Across subsequent sittings our internal data shows the same trend: more realistic practice, higher pass rates. We design our courses around that evidence.
Most SQE candidates are studying alongside full-time work and other commitments. Our courses are self-paced and online, with multiple package tiers so candidates can choose the level of support that matches their background and budget. There are no rigid timetables or fixed cohorts to slot into.
Our company was founded as QLTS School. Although the QLTS qualification has been replaced by the SQE, the QLTS School name reflects more than the assessment we originally prepared candidates for — it represents 15+ years of expertise in preparing lawyers for English qualification, and that history is the foundation of what we offer today.
We use both “QLTS School” and “QLTS” across our materials and digital channels; both refer to the same organisation.
Whether you are at the start of your research or ready to start preparing, we are happy to help.
