What A-level grades are needed for law?

Jul 11, 2022

Written By Thomas Cserep

Getting the right grades at A-Level is essential to enrol on your ideal law degree. We discuss the entry requirements for undergraduate law courses and how certain subjects can enhance your application.

Law degrees - what are your options

Doing a law degree is the very first step you need to take in order to start your career in the legal industry.

When studying law at university, you can pick from two potential pathways. If you are certain that you want to qualify as a barrister or solicitor, you are most likely to do a Bachelor of Laws, which is more commonly referred to as an LLB.

However, if you are more interested in law as a discipline and are open to working in another field, you might be interested in doing a BA or BSc in law.

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What you need to study law

As you would expect, the A-level grades you need to do a degree in law really depends on where you want to study the type of course you pick. Generally speaking, it is harder to get onto an LLB than a BA or BSc in law programme.

UCAS has set the minimum requirements to study law in higher education. If you would like to study the subject at undergraduate level, you need to attain at least CDD, which is the equivalent of 80 UCAS points.

However, if you are open to doing a foundation year, UCAS permits you to enrol at a university to study law with only EE (32 UCAS points). Nonetheless, higher quality courses at more prestigious universities have much higher grade requirements.

For example, the University of Cambridge’s entry requirements state that aspiring LLB students should be predicted to attain at least A*AA in their A-levels, while King’s College London expects candidates to finish their secondary education with grades between AAB and A*AA.

In addition to meeting the grade requirements, a number of universities will usually require you to also sit the Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT), an admissions test for law courses in the UK. You can learn more about the LNAT on our dedicated LNAT page.

Your A-level subject choices matter

The grades you need to study law will also depend on the subjects you picked for your A-levels. The offer you receive from your chosen university will be individualised, meaning the entry requirements will also depend on the subjects you study.

Needless to say, universities offering LLB programmes will look at certain subjects more favourably than others. For example, A-level choices such as English, History and Politics are valued highly by universities. This is because assessments on these courses are primarily essay-based where students have to demonstrate critical thinking and analyse material to come to a well-argued conclusion.

Acquiring these skills is crucial if you want to succeed in any law degree and have a career in the legal industry. Furthermore, doing academically demanding subjects such as Maths, Chemistry and Physics not only demonstrates your intellect, but also helps develop useful traits such as problem-solving.

On the other hand, “soft” subjects, including Photography, Media Studies and General Studies are not as well received by universities, with the most prestigious institutions not even making offers to applicants who haven’t studied more academic and traditional courses at A-level.

Whilst this certainly shouldn’t discourage you from taking these subjects at your school, you should bear in mind that your UCAS application may not be successful if you want to study law at a top university. Make sure to check the grade and subject requirements of each university before applying.

As you can see, the grade requirements needed to study law at university varies a lot, mostly depending on the prestige of the institution and the subjects you have chosen to study for A-levels.

Choosing a University