How to make a Final Stage Appeal

What is a Final Stage Appeal?

A final stage appeal is the request for a review of the decision of the First Appeal Panel.

Grounds for appeal

A final appeal may be made on the following ground only:

  • The decision of the First Appeal Panel, or the manner in which that decision was reached involved material irregularity and/or was manifestly unreasonable and/or irrational (7.2.1, Appeals Policy).

You cannot appeal an upheld first stage appeal.

  • 1

    I am ready to make a final stage appeal

    Submitting your appeal

    To submit your appeal, please use the First Stage Appeal Form available in your SQE account. When completing your appeal, please refer to the Appeals Policy and FAQs for guidance.

    Things to consider:

    • The grounds for your appeal.
    • The evidence you provide in support of your appeal.
    • The submission deadline.
    • You can make a request for copies of the evidence that was provided to the first stage appeal panel. This request must be made within 5 working days of the outcome of your first stage appeal. You will receive the documents within 15 working days of the outcome of your first stage appeal.

    Please note that your final stage appeal will only be considered as submitted once the form and the appeal fee of £850 has been made.

    The deadline for submitting the appeal, including the appeal charge, is 16:00, within 20 working days of the date you were notified of the decision of the First Stage Appeal Panel.

    If you experience any issues submitting your form, please contact the Quality Team via equality.quality@sqe.sra.org.uk as soon as possible.

  • 2

    I am ready to make payment

    • Once you have submitted your appeal form you will receive an email with a copy of your appeal form within 30 minutes. If you do not receive this email, please contact equality.quality@sqe.sra.org.uk to confirm receipt of your appeal.
    • You will receive a formal confirmation email from the Quality Team within two working days, with a deadline for payment.
    How to make payment

    To proceed with payment, please contact the Candidate Services Team by telephone between 8:00 - 16:00, Monday to Friday, at 0203 486 3080.

    Please note that payments can only be taken by telephone.

  • 3

    I have submitted my appeal

    • You will receive an email to confirm your appeal has been submitted in full.
    • If additional information is required, a member of the Quality Team will contact you by email.
    • The team will prepare your appeal for consideration by the Final Appeal Panel.
    • You may elect for an oral hearing or a paper-based determination. The Quality Team will contact you to establish your preference.
    • The Final Appeal Panel will meet within 30 working days of the appeal submission deadline.
  • 4

    I want to know the outcome of my appeal

    • The outcome of your appeal will be communicated to you via email within 15 working days from the Final Appeal Panel.
    • This will be sent to the email registered on your SQE account.
    • For any queries regarding the content of your outcome letter, please contact the Quality Team via email at equality.quality@sqe.sra.org.uk
    • For questions related to refunds or bookings please contact the Candidate Services Team via email at enquiries@sqe.sra.org.uk or by telephone on 0203 486 3080.

Supporting evidence

It is your responsibility to provide all supporting evidence for your appeal. We are unable to advise on specific evidence required. Evidence should be relevant to the basis on which you have appealed.

A final appeal can only be made on the basis of ground 7.2.1, which states that the decision of the First Appeal Panel, or the process by which it was reached, involved a material irregularity, or was manifestly unreasonable and/or irrational. You will need to provide specific details of the irregularity or explain why you believe the decision was manifestly unreasonable and/or irrational.

Outcomes of a final stage appeal

The Panel cannot change a pass mark or change a candidate's mark.

The Final Panel will either:

  • reject the decision of the First Stage Appeal Panel
  • uphold the decision of the First Stage Appeal Panel

The decision of the Final Appeal Panel is final.

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