Preparation for the SQE1

Essential SQE1 Questions: 500 practice questions with fully worked solutions.

Academic rigour for the future solicitor.

Exam-accurate, high-quality preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. We bridge the gap between textbook theory and the realities of the SRA assessment. Updated for the January 2027 format, with the law of England and Wales stated as at 11 September 2026.

Essential SQE1 Questions front cover

The Flagship Edition

Essential SQE1 Questions

Essential SQE1 Questions is a single-best-answer question bank for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination: 500 original questions spanning all 13 official FLK1 and FLK2 subject areas in 12 subject groupings, each with a fully worked solution explaining why the best answer wins on the facts and why each of the other options fails. Updated for the January 2027 format and written to the SQE1 assessment specification, with the law of England and Wales stated as at 11 September 2026.

  • 500 high-fidelity questions mirroring the difficulty of the SRA assessment.
  • Fully worked solutions across both FLK1 and FLK2.
  • Law of England and Wales stated as at 11 September 2026.
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The Essential SQE1 series · 3 books

Mock exams for the January 2027 sitting

The Essential SQE1 series: Essential SQE1 Questions, SQE FLK1 Mock Exams and SQE FLK2 Mock Exams

Three books. One complete SQE1 series.

Essential SQE1 Questions builds your knowledge subject by subject. The FLK1 and FLK2 Mock Exams test it under real exam conditions. All three state the law as at 11 September 2026, updated for the January 2027 format.

2 × 170
Single-best-answer questions across two papers, from January 2027
~108 sec
Average time per question in the real exam
13
Official FLK1 and FLK2 subject areas; the book groups these into 12 topics
11 Sep 2026
Law of England and Wales stated as at in all three Solon Prep books

Source: SRA assessment update, published 10 September 2026 · SRA subject areas, checked 30 September 2026

How the Book Works

A Complete Practice Loop

01

Attempt Under Timed Conditions

Each question gives a factual scenario, a precise stem, and five options where more than one looks right — the single-best-answer format SQE1 uses, at roughly 108 seconds a question.

02

Mark Against the Answer Key

A quick-marking answer key and a progress tracker for the book's 12 subject groupings turn every block of practice into a diagnosis, showing where to focus your remaining revision time.

03

Understand Every Option

Worked solutions do more than state the answer. Each one explains the winning option, then takes the four distractors apart in turn — because wrong answers teach the most.

The Anatomy of an Answer

Inside Every Worked Solution

Written to be read after a timed attempt

Every one of the 500 questions has a full worked solution. Each solution states the legal principle, applies it to the scenario, and then works through the remaining options one by one — the option that misstates the law, the one that applies the right rule to the wrong facts, and the one that reaches the right outcome for the wrong reason. Read after a timed attempt, the solutions turn marking into revision.

Each solution covers

  • The rule, and why it decides the question
  • Application to the specific facts
  • Why each distractor fails
  • The trap the question was built around
FLK1 · Business Law and Practice · Foundational

Question

Adaeze Kaur and Elena Williams have been running an interior design business together for three years. They share the profits equally, make decisions jointly, and contribute their own savings to fund the business. They never signed any written agreement, never registered anything at Companies House, and never filed any document with any registrar. A supplier, Chidi Mwangi, is owed money for furniture delivered to the business and wants to understand the legal nature of the arrangement between Adaeze and Elena before pursuing payment.

  1. A.They operate a private limited company, because they have been trading for more than one year.
  2. B.They operate a limited liability partnership, because two people running a business together form an LLP by default.
  3. C.They operate a general partnership, which arose automatically from carrying on a business in common with a view of profit.
  4. D.They operate no recognised business form, because no written agreement was ever signed between them.
  5. E.They operate a partnership, but only because they each contributed capital to the business.
Worked Solution
Correct answerC

A general partnership comes into existence automatically whenever two or more people carry on a business in common with a view of profit. No written agreement, registration, or filing is required. Adaeze and Elena share profits, make joint decisions, and run the design business together for gain, which satisfies the definition. The arrangement is therefore a general partnership by operation of law, and each partner can be personally liable for the firm's debts, including the sum owed to Chidi.

Why the other options fail

  • A.A private limited company is created only by completing the formal incorporation process and registration. Length of trading is irrelevant; simply trading for over a year does not turn an unregistered venture into a company.
  • B.An LLP does not arise by default. It is a corporate body that comes into existence only when the correct incorporation documents are delivered to and registered by the registrar. As nothing was ever filed, no LLP exists here.
  • D.This wrongly assumes a written agreement is essential. A general partnership can arise purely from conduct, so the absence of any signed document does not mean there is no recognised business form.
  • E.This reaches the right form but for the wrong reason. A partnership is defined by carrying on a business in common with a view of profit, not by whether the parties contributed capital. Capital contribution is not the legal trigger.

Two of the 500 questions in the book, reproduced exactly as published.

Syllabus Coverage

Question Coverage Across the SQE1 Syllabus

  • Business Law and Practice40 questions
  • Dispute Resolution49 questions
  • Contract Law57 questions
  • Legal System of England and Wales42 questions
  • Tort35 questions
  • Legal Services26 questions
  • Property Practice42 questions
  • Wills and the Administration of Estates49 questions
  • Solicitors Accounts32 questions
  • Land Law37 questions
  • Trusts39 questions
  • Criminal Law and Practice52 questions
Ethics and Professional ConductExamined pervasively across both papers
TotalThe complete question bank500 questions

Editorial Method

How Every Question Was Built

01

Written to the specification

Every question is drafted to the published SQE1 assessment specification in the single-best-answer format the exam uses: a factual scenario, a precise stem, and five options where more than one looks plausible.

02

Independently reviewed

Each question passed through multiple independent reviews before inclusion, with every answer checked separately and cross-question consistency verified across the bank.

03

Calibrated by difficulty

Questions span foundational, moderate, and hard levels in every subject, so practice stretches from first-pass revision to the traps that decide marks on exam day.

Lamplit study desk with closed hardback volumes and a notebook

Built for the January 2027 sitting

Preparation that mirrors the exam.

SQE1 rewards applied judgement over recall: from January 2027, two papers of 170 single-best-answer questions, in two sessions of 85 per paper. FLK1 is 11–15 January and FLK2 is 18–22 January 2027; booking closes 23 November 2026. Essential SQE1 Questions is updated for the January 2027 format, states the law of England and Wales as at 11 September 2026, and is written to the published SQE1 assessment specification.

Sources: SRA assessment dates and law cut-off and booking dates, checked 30 September 2026; format update, published 10 September 2026.

The opening chapters explain the single-best-answer format and a fixed working order for answering under time pressure; the closing pages cover exam-day technique, from pacing to the discipline of never leaving a blank.

Suitable for law graduates, career changers, apprentices, and international candidates — whether preparing alongside a course or through self-directed study.

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Frequently Asked

Questions, Answered

What exactly is SQE1?

SQE1 is the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination: two papers, FLK1 and FLK2, each of 170 single-best-answer questions from the January 2027 sitting (previously 180) sat under strict time pressure. It tests applied legal judgement — using the law on realistic facts — rather than recall.

Read the January 2027 format guide
Is the law in this book current?

The book states the law of England and Wales as at 11 September 2026, the cut-off for the January 2027 sitting, and is updated for the January 2027 format.

How is this different from other question banks?

Every one of the 500 solutions explains the winning option and then takes the four distractors apart in turn — the option that misstates the law, the one that applies the right rule to the wrong facts, and the one that reaches the right outcome for the wrong reason. Wrong answers teach the most.

Does it cover the whole syllabus?

Yes — all 13 official FLK1 and FLK2 subject areas, grouped into 12 subjects in the book's coverage table. Ethics and professional conduct are examined pervasively across both papers. The table above shows the question counts for each book grouping.

Who is it written for?

Law graduates, career changers, solicitor apprentices, and international candidates — whether preparing alongside a course or through self-directed study.

Is Solon Prep connected to the SRA?

No. Essential SQE1 Questions is an independent revision aid from Solon Prep and is not created or endorsed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

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  • Solon Chambers: practice by subject and topic, timed or untimed.
  • Solon Court: timed mock papers on an exam-style screen.
  • Your progress, weak topics and review queue in one place.

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