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SQE2 sample questions: the official samples, indexed

The SRA publishes 10 official SQE2 sample questions in English, covering all six skills, each with a sample answer, commentary and an analysis against the criteria. There are no past papers. The index below links to each sample and to our guide for that skill.

Updated 1 October 2026 · Checked against the sources listed below

Sample script: struggling company report

Case and matter analysis · Business Law and Practice · 60 minutes

Sample, tap anything

SkillsC3 / 5

LawC2.7 / 5

Station 57%

874 words

Skills and law count equally. No single station has a pass mark: the exam result is the average of all 16.

REPORT TO NADIA HUSSAIN Re: Grace Adeyemi, Kestrel Packaging Limited Introduction Grace is the sole director and shareholder of Kestrel Packaging Limited, which makes corrugated packaging in Wakefield and has 18 employees. In May 2026 it lost its biggest customer, Fernside Foods, which was 40% of turnover1, and it has made losses every month since then (£4,800 in May, £19,600 in June, £22,300 in July and £21,100 in August). At 31 August the balance sheet showed net liabilities of £176,700. The overdraft with Wharfedale Bank is £104,600 out of a £120,000 limit and is secured by a debenture, and Grace has given a personal guarantee of up to £75,000. She is hoping to sign a contract with Arden Garden Centres. Lindqvist, the main supplier, has served a statutory demand, and Brookfield are due to pay £52,000 on 9 October. 1. Grace's position as director The main risk for Grace is wrongful trading under s214 Insolvency Act 1986. If the company goes into insolvent liquidation and she knew or ought to have concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of avoiding insolvent liquidation, the court can order her to contribute to the company's assets. So the fact that it is a limited company does not fully protect her. The accountant's email of 29 September makes it clear that the company cannot pay its debts as they fall due and has more liabilities than assets. Arden is not signed and would not bring in money until February. From now on she is therefore at real risk.2 The defence is that she took every step to minimise the potential loss to creditors. She should stop ordering on credit (such as the £22,000 from Tern)3 and stop taking deposits like the Tallis £12,000, because those people may not be paid. She should get advice from an insolvency practitioner straight away and keep records of her decisions. 2. The statutory demand Lindqvist has served a statutory demand for £46,300 under s123(1)(a). The company has 3 weeks from service on 24 September, i.e. until 15 October, to pay or secure or compound the debt. Otherwise it is deemed unable to pay its debts and Lindqvist can present a petition to wind it up. Grace accepts she owes the money so there is no point disputing it. Lindqvist has suggested £15,000 now and the rest in instalments. This might be a sensible way to buy time, but the company does not really have the cash and it would be paying one creditor ahead of the others. Grace should take the IP's advice first. If a petition is presented the bank is likely to freeze the account.4 3. Grace's proposals Repaying her father: this would be a preference under s239 IA 1986. A preference is where the company puts a creditor in a better position than they would be in on an insolvent liquidation. Samuel is Grace's father and so is a connected person, so the relevant period is 2 years before the insolvency, not 6 months5, and it is presumed that the company was influenced by a desire to prefer him. The company is insolvent now. If the company goes into liquidation or administration, the liquidator could get the money back from Samuel. Grace should not repay him; he will have to claim as an unsecured creditor. Overdraft: Grace wants to put £12,000 against the overdraft. The bank is not connected and paying the bank is in the ordinary course, so this is less of a problem than the payment to Samuel6, but it would still be favouring one creditor and she should get advice before doing it. Deposits: she should not keep taking deposits for Christmas orders that may never be made. Backdated charge: Grace asks us to draft a charge for Samuel dated February 2025. We cannot backdate a document to make it look as if the loan was always secured. This would be misleading and dishonest and would breach SRA Principle 4 (honesty).7 We should tell Grace we cannot do this. 4. Options There are three main options. CVA - a company voluntary arrangement is an agreement with the creditors to pay part of the debts over time. It is proposed by the directors and supervised by an insolvency practitioner. It needs 75% of creditors by value to approve.8 If approved it binds the unsecured creditors. It could work if Arden signs, but HMRC and Lindqvist are large creditors. Administration - the directors can appoint an administrator, who will try to rescue the company as a going concern. There is a moratorium which stops creditors taking action against the company, including Lindqvist. The bank has a floating charge so it would be involved.9 Liquidation - the company would stop trading and the assets would be sold. This would not achieve Grace's aim of keeping the business going. Recommendation: Grace should see an IP this week. Administration seems the best option because of the moratorium10, which will protect the company from Lindqvist, and the administrator may be able to rescue the business and save the jobs. If Arden signs, a CVA could be considered later. 5. Other matters Grace should send the bank the management accounts by 9 October. She has missed the HMRC payment and should contact HMRC.

Tap a highlight to read its comment.

Work on next

Business Law and Practice: preferences to a guarantor (s239(4)(a), s241(1)(e)) and the directors' out-of-court administration route (notice to the QFCH, para 25(a))

  1. 1.Analyse the overdraft paydown as a preference to Grace as guarantor, with clause 9 and s241(1)(e).
  2. 2.Link the statutory demand to administration: a petition blocks an out-of-court appointment (para 25(a)) and the bank needs five business days' notice.
  3. 3.Complete the ethics handling: what happens if Grace insists, independent advice for Samuel and why a charge granted now would also fail.
  • You spotted 3 of 6 key issues.
    • Partly: Grace's personal exposure if trading continues: wrongful trading (when the point was reached, the standard, the every-step defence) and the creditor duty
    • Partly: Lindqvist's statutory demand: deadline of 15 October, effect of a petition, and Lindqvist's instalment offer
    • Missed: Grace's plan to pay down the guaranteed overdraft: a preference to herself as guarantor; the guarantee survives any insolvency
    • Partly: Options: CVA or administration (and liquidation as the fallback), with a recommendation
    • Partly: Grace's request for a backdated charge for her father (ethics), and why a charge granted now would not help either
  • You answered everything you were asked.
  • Wrongful trading and the father's preference are applied to the facts; the overdraft and the options are stated generally and the overdraft analysis is wrong.
  • Recommends an IP this week and administration, but gives no timetable tying the administration route to the 15 October deadline or to the bank's notice period.
  • The introduction recites background and monthly figures the partner already has.

Grades by criterion

Skills

Application of law

Tap a grade to see only its highlights. Tap a criterion to read the reason for its grade.

Law points

5 of 14 covered. Tap a point to read it in full.

  • Covered
  • Partly
  • Covered
  • Missed
  • Covered
  • Partly
  • Partly
  • Covered
  • Covered
  • Wrong
  • Missed
  • Partly
  • Partly
  • Partly

A sample script written for this demonstration and marked against the SRA's assessment criteria.

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SQE2 at a glance

official SRA sample questions in English
10
stations: 4 oral and 12 written
16
grade for each criterion, A = 5 marks and F = 0
A to F
SQE2 fee for bookings from October 2026
£3,086
Sources for these figures

The official samples

The SRA's samples are published on its SQE2 sample questions page. Each one includes the full question and documents, a sample candidate answer, commentary on the law and an analysis against the assessment criteria. The two oral skills also have videos. Each sample has a Welsh version. We do not reproduce the samples here; the links go to the SRA.

SkillPractice areaOfficial samplePractise this skill
Client interview and attendance noteWills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and PracticeSRA sampleAttendance note guide
Client interview and attendance noteProperty PracticeSRA sampleClient interview guide
AdvocacyCriminal LitigationSRA sampleAdvocacy guide
AdvocacyDispute ResolutionSRA sampleAdvocacy guide
Case and matter analysisBusiness Law and PracticeSRA sampleCase and matter analysis guide
Case and matter analysisWills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and PracticeSRA sampleCase and matter analysis guide
Legal researchCriminal LitigationSRA sampleLegal research guide
Legal writingProperty PracticeSRA sampleLegal writing guide
Legal writingBusiness Law and PracticeSRA sampleLegal writing guide
Legal draftingDispute ResolutionSRA sampleLegal drafting guide

The same page links to a performance indicators PDF for each skill. These describe what competent and not-yet-competent answers look like for each criterion. Read the indicators for a skill before you attempt its sample.

How to get the most from a sample

A sample can be used once as a real test. After you have read its commentary, it becomes a worked example. Use it in this order.

  1. Read only the question and documents. Do not open the sample answer.
  2. Set a timer to the exam time for the skill: 30 minutes for legal writing, 45 for drafting, 60 for case and matter analysis or research.
  3. Write your answer in a plain text editor, or on the Pearson VUE practice platform for the written samples.
  4. Grade your answer against each criterion, using the performance indicators, before you read anything else.
  5. Then read the sample answer and the commentary. List each point the commentary credits that your answer missed.
  6. Redraft the weakest section, not the whole answer.

Step 4 is the one most candidates skip. Grading before reading the commentary shows how well you judge your own work, and that judgement is what improves your timed answers.

The gaps in the samples

There are 10 samples for 16 stations, so most skill and practice area pairings have no official sample. Legal research and legal drafting each have one, in a single practice area. The samples also show one sample answer at one level, without grades. You cannot see from them what a C answer looks like next to a B.

That gap is what the marked answer at the top of this page is for. It is our own case and matter analysis report, marked against the SRA's criteria, with a grade for each criterion and comments on the lines that earned or lost credit. The marking criteria page explains how the grades combine, and the SQE2 mock exam page explains how to build a full timed mock. The SQE2 hub and plans and prices describe marked practice in every skill and area.

Questions candidates ask

On the SRA's SQE website, on the SQE2 sample questions page. Each sample has a summary page and a downloadable PDF with the full question, documents, sample answer, commentary and analysis. The performance indicators for each skill are on the same page.

No. The SRA does not publish past SQE2 papers. The official sample questions are the closest material, and the written samples can be tried on the Pearson VUE practice platform.

They come with a sample answer and an analysis against the criteria, but there is no numeric marking guide and nobody marks your own attempt. You compare your answer with the sample and the performance indicators yourself.

No. They are sample answers with commentary. A different structure and different wording can earn the same grades. Use the commentary and the performance indicators to see why each point earns credit, rather than copying the sample's form.

Yes. The SRA publishes each sample in English and in Welsh, and SQE2 can be taken in either language.

Yes. The SRA says the written samples can be tried on the Pearson VUE practice platform, which shows the screen used in the exam. The oral samples have videos instead.

Sources

SQE Practice is independent of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Rules, dates and fees can change: the SRA is the authority, and this page is checked against it.

Try a sample that is marked for you

The SRA's samples are self-marked. The free SQE2 diagnostic takes about 20 minutes: a short writing task graded on each criterion, plus quick questions across the other written skills. The marking is automated.

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