SQE1 question banks compared: 8 providers' free questions against the SRA's own

Law stated as at 27 September 2026 · How we tested

Declaration of interest. Solon Prep publishes SQE1 practice books and is one of the providers assessed below. We publish the full method, disclose our own correction and offer every named provider a right of reply. Every error reported here cleared the same three-check threshold.

The short answer

In September 2026 we tested the free or publicly available SQE1 questions from eight providers. We also tested 120 questions drawn at random from our three published books, using exactly the same checks.

• Answer keys. We found no wrong answer keys in our 120 book questions. Every other provider's free sample had between 0 and 2.
• Explanations. Our books had one explanation error in 120, and we have corrected it. Elsewhere we found explanations that apply a resulting trust to a jointly owned family home, and one that describes a company meeting abolished in 2017. The free Law Drills questions we tested had 11 such errors in 60.
• Difficulty. Our book questions scored 2.92 on the testing panel, level with the SRA's own pretested sample questions (2.88). Every other provider sample scored easier, from 3.31 to 5.07. The gaps to QLTS School and The College of Legal Practice are within the panel's margin of error. The gaps to the mass-market banks are not.

The conclusion is specific: these results compare free tiers, previews and blog questions with a random sample from Solon's published books. They do not assess each provider's full paid bank. The panel measures relative difficulty; it does not predict an individual exam score.

What this means for you

• Check the keys, not just the questions. Wrong answer keys appeared in five of the eight free samples. Before you build revision around any bank, spot-check three answers in your weakest subject against the statute or a leading case.
• Easy practice can flatter you. Every other provider's free sample measured easier than the SRA's own questions, and for the mass-market banks the gap was wider than the panel's margin of error. Comfortable scores on those sets may overstate your readiness for the real exam.
• Read the explanations before you commit. In some sets, fewer than a third of wrong options get any explanation at all. In a single-best-answer exam, knowing why the near-miss is wrong is most of the learning.

The results

*SQE1 Prep's practice-page and blog questions were panelled together (107 questions).

How to read it

• Wrong answer keys count only errors all three checks agreed on. Cases where a second answer is defensible are judgement calls and are not counted.
• Panel score is the average number of testing-panel members answering correctly, out of 6, so lower is harder. On the SRA's pretested questions it has a modest relationship with candidate performance (r = 0.36). That supports comparison between question sets, not prediction of an individual exam score.
• Other providers' panel scores leave out items whose key we flagged as wrong or arguable. That avoids making a set appear harder because of a broken key. On all 60 items, QLTS School scored 3.19.
• Samples of around 11 are too small to rank with confidence.
• Wrong options explained is the share of questions where every wrong option gets its own explanation. In a single-best-answer exam, knowing why the near-miss is wrong is most of the learning.

What we tested

We took every free question each provider makes available, up to about 60 per provider. Where a free tier was capped, we used the questions it unlocked. For Solon we drew 120 questions at random from our three books: 60 from Essential SQE1 Questions, and 30 each from the FLK1 and FLK2 Mock Papers.

Every question was checked against statute, case law, the CPR and SRA rules using live web sources. We only count an error where three separate checks all agree. Anything less certain is left out.

Difficulty was measured by a six-member testing panel. Each member answered every question closed-book, twice, with the options shuffled. The full procedure, sample sizes and limits are on the method page.

Six confirmed mistakes, and the correct law

Every finding below cleared all three checks against primary legal sources. We describe each question in our own words.

1. BPP: preferring younger staff called "indirect" discrimination

An employer offers training first to its younger employees. BPP's free set keys this as indirect age discrimination.

The law: treating someone less favourably because of age is direct discrimination (Equality Act 2010, s.13(1)). Indirect discrimination (s.19) is an apparently neutral rule that happens to disadvantage a group. Age is the one protected characteristic where direct discrimination can be justified (s.13(2)), but that doesn't make it indirect.

2. QLTS School: self-defence keyed on honest belief alone

A defendant disarms a man and then shoots him, and the stem tells you a reasonable person would regard the force as unreasonable. The key treats the defence as available.

The law: an honest belief, even a mistaken one, fixes the circumstances the defendant is judged on. The force used must still be reasonable in those circumstances, judged objectively (Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, s.76(3)–(7)). Outside the householder rule, disproportionate force is never reasonable (s.76(6)). On the facts given, the defence fails.

3. BARBRI: a price quotation treated as an offer

A buyer asks a dealer for its best price on a quantity of platinum, and the dealer replies with a price. The preview's key treats that reply as an offer the buyer could accept.

The law: answering a request for information with a price is not an offer to sell (Harvey v Facey [1893] AC 552, on very similar facts; see also Gibson v Manchester City Council [1979] UKHL 6). The buyer's order is the offer, and there is no contract unless the dealer accepts it.

4. SQE1 Prep: a resulting trust applied to a jointly owned home

This question is in a free land law guide on SQE1 Prep's blog, published 29 March 2026 and checked live on 27 September. A couple buy a home in joint names, contributing 80% and 20%. The keyed answer says the beneficial interests follow their contributions "as the presumption of resulting trust applies".

The law: in a domestic purchase in joint names, the starting point is that equity follows the law, so the couple hold equal shares. The person arguing for unequal shares has to prove a different common intention, and unequal contributions alone don't do that (Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17; Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53). The page's own explanation opens with "the starting point is that equity follows the law", which points to the equal-shares option.

5. Law Drills: an assignment in breach of covenant called "invalid"

A tenant assigns a lease without the consent the lease requires. The keyed answer says the assignment is invalid.

The law: an assignment made in breach of a covenant against assignment still passes the lease to the assignee. The landlord's remedies are against the tenant: typically forfeiture, if the lease reserves it, or damages (Old Grovebury Manor Farm Ltd v W Seymour Plant Sales & Hire Ltd (No 2) [1979] 1 WLR 1397). None of the five options states this fully. The closest is the one accepting that the assignment takes effect.

6. Law Drills: a meeting abolished in 2017

The key to this members' voluntary liquidation question is right, but its explanation describes a final meeting of members.

The law: since 6 April 2017, a liquidator in England and Wales doesn't hold a final meeting. They send the final account to the members and then to Companies House (Insolvency Act 1986, s.94 as amended).

Other confirmed explanation errors include:

• A QLTS School explanation cites "rule 2.2(c)" of the SRA Accounts Rules. No such rule exists; the definition is in rule 2.1(a).
• A College of Legal Practice explanation treats the 25%-of-shares and 25%-of-votes tests for a person with significant control as cumulative. Either one is enough (Companies Act 2006, Sch 1A).

The method page lists every counted item.

SQEMCQ: mostly the SRA's own sample questions

Of the 60 free SQEMCQ questions we sampled, 49 are the SRA's own published sample questions with the options reshuffled. Their answer keys match the SRA's. That isn't an error, but if you've already worked through the SRA samples, most of that free set will be familiar. We had keys for only 3 of SQEMCQ's 11 original questions, so we draw no accuracy conclusion.

We applied the same scrutiny to Solon

We applied the same standard to our books and publish the resulting correction and quality-control findings here.

• One explanation was wrong. In one of our 120 book questions, the note on a wrong option ended by saying that option "captures" the correct principle. That contradicted the rest of the explanation, and we've corrected it. We also tidied three minor imprecisions that wouldn't have misled a candidate.
• Level with the SRA's samples is a comparative result. Our 2.92 is a panel result, with a modest relationship to candidate performance (r = 0.36). Our lead over QLTS School and The College of Legal Practice is within its margin of error.
• These results are for our books only. Some newer questions we are writing for our online question bank measured easier on the same panel. They will not carry the same claims unless they meet the same standard.
• SQE1 Prep's bank is larger and very clean. It advertises 4,400+ questions (sqe1prep.co.uk, checked 30 September 2026), and the 94 practice questions of theirs we tested had no wrong keys and no explanation errors.
• Our questions use named people; the SRA's use roles. None of the 220 SRA sample questions uses a personal name ("a woman", "the Landlord", "the Claimant"). Most of ours do.
• Our wrong options give away more than the SRA's. In 47% of our book questions, a word like "always", "never" or "only" appears in a wrong option but not in the answer. The SRA figure is 36%, so a test-wise candidate can rule out more of ours. Half our lead-ins also ask which option "best describes" the position, against 8% of the SRA's. We are fixing both.
• Our explanations name the authority far less often than QLTS School's or SQE1 Prep's. The SRA doesn't require you to cite authorities, but naming them helps you look a rule up.

What distinguishes Solon's books

• Level with the SRA's samples on our panel (2.92 vs 2.88). Our book questions scored 2.92 against the SRA pretested set's 2.88. Essential SQE1 Questions scored 2.80 on its own.
• Clean keys. None of the 120 book questions had a wrong answer key.
• Every wrong option explained in all 1,520 questions across our three books. Law Drills was the only other provider at 100% in the free questions we tested.
• Difficulty measured, not guessed. Every question in our books is test-solved by the same panel and labelled from the result. Questions labelled hard scored about 1.5–2, standard about 3.3 and easy about 5.
• The SRA's format: five options and one single best answer, with the difficulty labels printed in the books.

Every question goes through multi-stage accuracy checks against current primary legal sources and closed-book difficulty testing by the panel. The published books combine those controls with a worked explanation for every option, a stated law date and a corrections process. To see how our books fit alongside textbooks and other revision guides, read how to choose SQE revision books.

How to judge any SQE1 question bank

You can run most of these checks in ten minutes on any free sample, including our own free SQE1 practice questions.

• Five options, one best answer. The real exam uses five-option single-best-answer questions. "None of the above" and true/false grids are not SRA formats.
• Application, not recall. About 82% of the SRA sample questions give you facts and ask you to apply the law. If most questions just ask for a definition, the bank is testing something else.
• Realistic length. The SRA sample stems and lead-ins average about 137 words. Two-line questions are easier than the exam.
• Every wrong option explained. Check that the explanation says why each distractor is wrong, not just why the key is right.
• Giveaway cues. Is the right answer usually the longest option? Do the wrong options keep saying "always" or "never"? In the SRA samples, the answer is the longest option only about 19% of the time.
• English law, current law. Look for a "law stated as at" date and a corrections log. Be wary of old court names, abolished procedures and rules that read as if they come from another jurisdiction.
• Spot-check three answers yourself. Pick three questions in your weakest subject and check each key against the statute or a leading case.
• Know what's original. If a free set looks familiar, compare it with the SRA's published sample questions.

Frequently asked questions

What format are SQE1 practice questions?

The real exam uses five-option single-best-answer questions. The SRA's sample stems and lead-ins average about 137 words, and about 82% of them give you facts and ask you to apply the law. From January 2027 there are 170 questions in each paper, at roughly 108 seconds a question. A bank that drills you with two-line definitions is testing something else.

Are free SQE1 questions reliable?

In our testing, five of the eight free samples contained wrong answer keys confirmed by three separate checks, and the worst set had 11 explanations stating the law wrongly in 60 questions. Before you build revision around any free set, spot-check three answers in your weakest subject against the statute or a leading case.

Are practice questions harder or easier than the real SQE1?

On our six-member testing panel, the SRA's own pretested sample questions scored 2.88, our book questions 2.92, and every other provider's free sample between 3.31 and 5.07 — lower is harder. For the mass-market banks, that gap was wider than the panel's margin of error. Comfortable scores on an easy bank can flatter your readiness for the real exam.

Do free SQE1 questions duplicate the SRA's sample questions?

Some do. Of the 60 free SQEMCQ questions we sampled, 49 were the SRA's own published sample questions with the options reshuffled. If you've already worked through the SRA samples, most of that free set will be familiar.

Where can I get official SQE1 practice questions?

The SRA publishes free sample questions for both papers, including 130 pretested questions with the percentage of candidates answering each correctly. They are the only questions with a direct line to the real exam's difficulty — start there, then judge every other bank against them.

Corrections and right of reply

If you're a provider and think we've got something wrong, contact us. We'll review it and, where we're wrong, correct this page within 5 working days. Every change is dated in the correction log on the method page. Providers may change their content after we test it, so each finding here is dated to September 2026.

This article compares free and publicly available questions tested in September 2026 with a random sample from Solon Prep's published books. It is not a review of any provider's full course or paid question bank. Solon Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SRA or any provider named.