LPC pass rate drops to 42%

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Pass rates on the Legal Practice Course (LPC) have dropped from 57% to just 42% in the year ending 31 August 2024, according to new data from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The regulator also reported that a record-high number of students (46%) failed or deferred due to exceptional circumstances.

The decline comes as the LPC winds down in favour of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which was introduced in 2021 and replaced the route to qualification. While transitional arrangements allow for candidates to qualify via the LPC until 2032, the SRA expects most providers to cease offering the course this year.

Read this Oracle to find out whether law firms are still recruiting LPC graduates.   

The number of LPC providers that enrol new students dropped from 25 in 2022 to 17 in 2023. Providers such as BPP University Law School and The University of Law accounted for around 82% of LPC enrolments.

Student numbers have also dropped significantly, from 12,227 in 2022/23 to 8,085 in 2023/24. The SRA attributes this to firms increasingly sponsoring SQE candidates and more aspiring solicitors opting for the newer route. In addition, the proportion of students exhausting all permitted resit attempts. Withdrawing or suspending studies rose from 1% in 2022/23 to 12% in 2023/24.

Demographic disparities persisted, with male LPC candidates having a slightly higher completion rate (43%) than female candidates (41%), despite women outnumbering men. Meanwhile, ethnic completion rates declined compared to the previous year:

• 24% of students who identified as Black/African/Caribbean/Black British completed the LPC, down from 41% in 2022/23.
• 33% of students who identified themselves as being Asian/Asian British completed the LPC, compared to 49% in 2022/23.
• 35% of students who identified as being from mixed/multiple ethnic groups completed the LPC, compared to 55% in 2022/23.