SQE Mitigating Circumstances
Table of Contents
Steps to Claim Mitigating Circumstances for the SQE
Making a claim for mitigating circumstances is never easy, especially if the reason for your mitigating circumstances has not only affected your studies, but your life. Given that preparation for the SQE exams will last for months it is not uncommon for a certain event to take place which impacts your ability to study for the SQE or interferes with your SQE assessment date. Here we will talk about the steps you will need to take to claim mitigating circumstances.
Definition of Mitigating Circumstances for the SQE
- A mistake or irregularity in the administration or conduct of the assessment
- Evidence of bias in the conduct of the assessment
- Subject to the Fit to Sit Policy and SQE Assessment Regulations, a candidate’s illness or other personal circumstances beyond their reasonable control
If any of these has happened to you, they must have materially and adversely affected your marks or performance in an SQE assessment or your failure to attend an assessment must have been attributed to these circumstances.
Circumstances That Will Not Usually Meet the Definition of Mitigating Circumstances
- Disruptions to exam preparation or study time
- Employment
- Holiday/family events
- Misreading the assessment timetable
- Transports issues
This list is not exhaustive.
A Mistake or Irregularity in the Administration or Conduct of the Assessment
A mistake or irregularity during your assessment could occur on the day of your assessment or afterwards when your assessment answers are being processed and marked. No system is perfect, and mistakes can happen. However, you must make sure that if you do come across a mistake or irregularity on the day of your assessment, that you communicate this to an exam invigilator as soon as possible before leaving the venue.
Examples of a mistake or irregularity during an exam could be a major disruption due to noise during your exam, having the wrong or no exam paper when arriving at your test centre or the centre being closed on short notice.
Evidence of bias in the conduct of the assessment
Evidence of bias in the conduct of an exam is where on the day of your exam, you feel that you are at a disadvantage to other exam takers at the same venue. This usually arises from a technical error. Though evidence of bias in the conduct of your assessment is extremely rare and obvious it must still be declared by you as a mitigating circumstance.
A Student’s Illness or Other Personal Circumstances Beyond Their Reasonable Control
The most common reason to apply for mitigating circumstances will be due to illness or other personal circumstances beyond your reasonable control. An illness must still be proven to have materially and adversely affected your marks or performance in an SQE assessment.
Furthermore, the SQE assessment follows a ‘fit to sit’ policy. This means that if you decide to take the exam you declare that you do not believe that there is any reason that you are adversely or materially affected by an illness during the taking of your exam. Therefore, it is recommended that if you are indeed too ill to sit through two entire assessments in a day, that you do not sit the exam and apply for mitigating circumstances instead.
Personal circumstances beyond your reasonable control may include the severe illness or loss of a loved one such as a family member.
Ongoing medical conditions or disabilities affecting you do not fall within mitigating circumstances. Meeting the needs for ongoing medical conditions/disabilities are dealt with by the reasonable adjustments policy. However, there could be circumstances where you may experience a flare-up. If this occurs, you can submit a mitigating circumstances application.
Evidence Needed in Applying for Mitigating Circumstances
Once you finish the assessment and wish to proceed with a claim for mitigating circumstances, you must complete and send off an SQE Mitigating Circumstances Form.
If you are taking the SQE1 exam you must complete the SQE1 Mitigating Circumstances Form. All claims regarding SQE1 must be made by 4pm GMT on the fifth working day after the relevant booked assessment day.
If you are taking the SQE2 exam you must complete the SQE2 Mitigating Circumstances Form. All claims regarding SQE2 must be made by 4pm GMT on the fifth working day after the candidate’s last assessment station.
The mitigating circumstances form must be accompanied by independent supporting written evidence detailing the reason for mitigating circumstances. For example, if you make a claim due to illness, you must provide a medical certificate as evidence of the illness which should outline the time period in which your illness occurred, the onset and duration of the condition.
Mitigating circumstances claims will not be accepted after the deadline. Candidates who miss the deadline could submit the mitigating circumstances as part of a first stage appeal, in accordance with the SQE Appeals Policy, after the assessment results are released.
Evidence Sent After the Mitigating Circumstances
If you are unable to provide your evidence in time (within the 5-day window), you must still submit your mitigating circumstances form and contact the Equality and Quality Team to be advised on the submission deadline for your written evidence.
No evidence of mitigating circumstances
Where it is not possible to give written evidence, you must still submit your mitigating circumstances form which will be reviewed by a panel. They will review the available information and circumstances outlined in your mitigating circumstances form.
Outcome of Mitigating Circumstances
Your mitigating circumstances form will be acknowledged within five working days of receiving it.
Your claim will be reviewed by a Mitigating Circumstances Panel who will consider whether your claim amounts to mitigating circumstances and whether it is substantiated by evidence. The pass mark and candidate mark cannot be changed due to the mitigating circumstances claim.
If you fail the assessment attempt, and your mitigating circumstances claim is successful, the attempt will be discounted, and you may be entitled to a refund. If you pass the assessment attempt, your mitigating circumstances claim will not be considered any further. A candidate’s mark for SQE1 cannot be changed.
For SQE2, in exceptional circumstances, where mitigating circumstances are accepted for an assessment station and further statistical analysis of the candidate’s performance across all stations provides evidence that the candidate would have passed had the event not occurred, the one directly impacted assessment station will be removed and the candidate mark recalculated based on 15 stations.
For example, as part of the “client interviewing” station in SQE2, candidates are given 25 minutes to interview a client. In error, the exam invigilator ends the time at 15 minutes. The candidate was at a disadvantage because they didn’t have the full time available to complete their interview. This could seriously impact the candidate’s performance in the station.
If the candidate fails SQE2 and a mitigating circumstances application was made by the candidate in relation to this station, and after statistical analysis it transpires that without the error, the grade for this station would have been higher and therefore the candidate would have passed, the candidate’s SQE2 assessment will be marked out of 15 stations, rather than 16, with the station where the error occurred, being removed.
Official Insights into SQE Mitigating Circumstances
For authoritative and comprehensive insight into mitigating circumstances as they relate to the SQE, the official resources provided by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are invaluable. The Mitigating Circumstances Policy, accessible here, offers detailed guidelines and policies pertaining to various scenarios and conditions that might affect a candidate’s performance. Additionally, the SRA’s on-demand events, including discussions and seminars on SQE mitigating circumstances, available here, provide further insights and perspectives. These resources are essential for anyone seeking a thorough understanding of the procedures, requirements, and implications of mitigating circumstances in the context of the SQE.
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