Jurica
Three chapters, built from primary admissions data.
Bristol sets no minimum LNAT score, and its offer holders averaged 24 out of 42 on Section A for 2025 entry. Using Bristol’s replies to Freedom of Information requests, this chapter explains how Bristol uses the test, what its offer holders have scored since 2013, how the essay is assessed and when you must sit the test.
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Try Jurica for freeBristol sets no minimum score. For 2025 entry, offer holders on the standard offer averaged 24 out of 42 on Section A, and those on the contextual offer averaged 23. The lowest scores among offer holders were 7 and 9.[1]
Bristol was one of the eight universities that set up the LNAT in 2004, and the test is required for both of its Law degrees that you can apply to directly, LLB Law (M100) and Law and Modern Languages (MR20).[2][3][4] Its FAQ says that you will have done well if you answer more than half of the Section A questions correctly (22 or more out of 42), and that your score is compared with those of the other applicants in your year.[5] Section A has 42 multiple-choice questions on 12 passages, and you have 95 minutes to answer them.[6]
Note that an average of 24 is close to Durham’s and well below the averages of about 30 at UCL and Oxford.[7][8][9] This chapter explains how Bristol uses the test, what its offer holders have scored since 2013, how the essay is assessed and when you must sit the test.
Bristol gives each application a score built from your GCSEs, your A-levels and your LNAT score, and it decides mainly on that score.[10] The admissions statement for 2027 gives no weighting, but the statements for the 2021 to 2025 cycles weighted GCSEs at 20%, A-levels at 40% and the LNAT at 40%.[11]
There are three things to notice here:
Bristol’s FAQ adds that the LNAT is an important part of the process and that a poor result may lead to an unsuccessful application.[5] Applicants are not routinely interviewed, although mature applicants with old or non-standard qualifications may be.[10][5]
Bristol has released offer holders’ Section A averages for two cycles. In the 2020 admissions cycle, offer holders for M100 averaged 22.3 out of 42.[14] For 2025 entry the average was 24 for standard offers and 23 for contextual offers.[1]
As you can see, Bristol’s offer holders scored about the same as Durham’s (24.9) and about six marks below those at UCL (29.4) and Oxford (30.96).[1][7][8][9] There are two reasons to be careful with this comparison:
Note also the lowest scores. For 2025 entry at least one standard offer went to an applicant who scored 7, and at least one contextual offer to an applicant who scored 9.[1] So a very low score did not rule these applicants out. Having said that, they are single cases among more than 1,600 offers, and Bristol’s FAQ warns that a poor LNAT result may lead to an unsuccessful application.[1][5] We recommend aiming above the offer holders’ average, at 25 or more, because a higher score leaves your grades with less to do.
For the 2013 to 2018 cycles Bristol gave its averages as a percentage of the total LNAT score, which at the time combined Section A and the essay. Offer holders averaged between 55% and 66%, and all applicants between 51% and 63%.[15][13]
| Admissions cycle | All applicants | Offer holders | Accepted an offer | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 55.6% | 55.4% | 51.3% | −0.2 |
| 2014 | 57.3% | 59.1% | 59.0% | +1.8 |
| 2015 | 62.8% | 66.2% | 64.6% | +3.4 |
| 2016 | 57.6% | 60.1% | 58.5% | +2.5 |
| 2017 | 52.4% | 56.0% | 54.0% | +3.6 |
| 2018 | 50.7% | 55.1% | 53.2% | +4.3 |
There are two things to notice here:
Not for ordinary applications. Bristol’s FAQ says that it does not have a minimum LNAT score, and offer holders for 2025 entry scored as low as 7.[5][1]
There are two exceptions:
There is no safe score at Bristol. Many candidates look for a score that guarantees an offer. This is understandable, but Bristol compares your score with those of the other applicants in your year, and under the weighting it last published your GCSEs and A-levels together counted for 60% of the total.[5][11] We recommend preparing for the LNAT as fully as you can, and making sure your predicted grades are as strong as possible too.
Yes. Bristol staff read and assess every essay, and the admissions statement says they look for candidates who can make and sustain a persuasive argument and who have a strong command of language.[10][5]
Bristol has not released any essay marks, and its current admissions statement does not say how much the essay weighs. The 2021 statement gave it 40% of the LNAT grade, against 60% for Section A.[12] If something similar still applies, the essay counts for a good deal of your application, since the LNAT as a whole was weighted at 40%.[11]
The two qualities in Bristol’s statement tell you what to practise:[10]
Many candidates leave the essay until the last week, because they expect Section A to matter more. We do not recommend this at Bristol, for two reasons: staff assess every essay, and Bristol has in the past counted the essay as a sizeable part of the LNAT grade.[10][12]
Practise timed essays. We recommend writing at least six full essays in 40 minutes before your test, because Section B gives you only 40 minutes to choose one of three questions, plan your answer and write it.[6]
They take the same test under the same rules, but their offer rate is much higher: 80% for 2025 entry, against 37% for Home applicants.[10][1]
In the last two cycles Bristol also gave overseas applicants more time. It extended the LNAT deadline to 31 March 2025 in the 2025 cycle and to 30 April 2026 in the 2026 cycle, because Law applications remained open to overseas applicants; the 2026 extension was for overseas applicants only.[18][19] No extension has been announced for 2027 entry, so we recommend planning for 13 January 2027 wherever you apply from.[20]
Bristol has not released the scores of all overseas offer holders, but it has given the scores of those who missed their offer conditions. For 2025/26, the overseas applicants it accepted after missing their conditions had scored from 9 upwards, and the largest groups had scored 19 (5 applicants), 20 (10) and 21 (6).[21] These applicants had already received offers, so the figures show that Bristol made overseas offers at Section A scores of around 20.
Note that contextual offers are only for applicants with Home fee status, so if you are applying from outside the UK the standard offer applies to you.[22]
For 2027 entry you must sit the LNAT on or before 13 January 2027, and book your test before that date. Your UCAS application is due by 6pm on the same day.[23][24]
Note that Bristol’s own pages disagree about extensions. The admissions statement says the deadline is final and no exceptions can be made, while the LNAT page says Bristol may grant extensions in exceptional circumstances.[10][20] We recommend treating 13 January as final. Durham has the same deadline, but if you are also applying to Oxford or Cambridge you must sit the test by 15 October 2026, and for King’s, LSE or UCL by 31 December 2026, so in practice you will sit the test earlier than Bristol requires.[23]
Bristol decides mainly on a score built from your grades and your LNAT, and it does not interview, so your LNAT is the part of your application that you can still change in the autumn of Year 13.[10] What you should concentrate on depends on your grades.
You are in the largest group of Bristol’s offer holders: 482 of the 784 offer holders whose predicted A-levels Bristol listed for 2025 entry were predicted A*A*A or A*A*A*.[1] Even so, your LNAT is compared with those of applicants with similar grades.[5]
What we recommend. Aim for a Section A score above the offer holders’ average of 24, and practise timed essays, which Bristol staff assess.
You meet the standard offer, as 186 of the listed offer holders for 2025 entry did exactly.[1][3] With grades level with the offer, your LNAT is likely to make more of the difference.
What we recommend. Put most of your preparation time into the LNAT, and aim for 25 or more on Section A.
Contextual offer holders averaged 23 on Section A for 2025 entry, one mark below standard offer holders.[1] If you are applying for a guaranteed offer, you must also score above Bristol’s unpublished threshold.[16]
What we recommend. Prepare for the LNAT as fully as anyone else, since eligibility lowers the grades you are asked for but not the test.
80% of overseas applications received an offer for 2025 entry, and Bristol extended the overseas LNAT deadline in each of the last two cycles.[1][18][19]
What we recommend. Book a test well before 13 January 2027, and do not rely on an extension, since none has been announced for 2027 entry.[20]
Bristol’s LNAT figures come from several Freedom of Information replies, which measure things in different ways. There are four limits:
Having said that, the figures are consistent with each other. Offer holders have averaged between about 22 and 24 on Section A whenever Bristol has given a figure out of 42, and offers have been made at scores well below that.[14][1]
Every numerical claim above ends in a [n] superscript that links here.
Reply to Faatihah Ogunfemi’s request of 21 September 2026, with the spreadsheet "FOI2627 173 Response Data.xlsx". Honours Law (LLB), the 2025 admissions cycle (2025 entry), Clearing excluded and deferred applications included. By fee status: Home 2,359 applications, 875 offers and 293 enrolments; Overseas 991, 788 and 205; total 3,350, 1,663 and 498. 1,187 applications were eligible for a contextual offer; 412 contextual offers were made and 143 students enrolled with one. 128 enrolments were accepted below the terms of their offer (74 on a standard offer, 54 on a contextual offer). Predicted best three A-levels of offer holders (A*A*A* 282, A*A*A 200, A*AA 180, AAA 49, AAB 27, ABB 22, A*AB 11, BBB 7, A*A*B 6) and achieved best three of enrolments, split by contextual offer. Section A (out of 42) of offer holders: standard offers average 24 and lowest 7; contextual offers average 23 and lowest 9. Counts below 5 are withheld.
Announces the LNAT, established by the law schools of eight universities including Bristol, to be taken for the first time in November 2004 for entry in 2005.
Course page for 2027 entry (UCAS code M100, three years). A-level standard offer A*AA or A*A*B; contextual offer AAB. IB 38 points with 18 at Higher Level (contextual 34 with 17). Scottish: Advanced Higher AA and Higher AAAAA. BTEC D*DD. Access to HE: 45 graded level 3 credits with at least 30 at Distinction and 15 at Merit or above. The Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills can replace a non-subject-specific grade. GCSE: no specific subjects required; GCSE English Language at grade B or 6 is one way for applicants whose first language is not English to meet the language requirement. The LNAT is required. Fees for the first year: £10,050 (Home) and £26,500 (international).
Four-year degree with French, German or Spanish. A*AA or A*A*B including B in the language (contextual AAB including B in the language). Applicants must sit the LNAT.
About 400 students are admitted each year, on average 260 Home and 140 international and EU. Typical offer A*AA or A*A*B, contextual AAB. No specific A-level subjects are required; Bristol looks at the best three A-levels and eight best GCSEs and does not accept General Studies or the EPQ. All applicants take the LNAT. Answering over 50% of Section A correctly counts as doing well. The essay is marked by members of staff. There is no minimum LNAT score: your score is compared with those of other applicants in your year, and a poor result may lead to an unsuccessful application. The LNAT cannot be resat in the same year. Mature students with old or non-standard qualifications may be interviewed.
Section A has 42 multiple-choice questions on 12 passages, in 95 minutes. In Section B you have 40 minutes to answer one of three essay questions.
For 2025 entry (the 2024/25 cycle) the average Section A score was 23.8 for all applicants and 24.9 for offer holders on Durham’s LLB Law (M101).
In 2024/25 the average LNAT score of test results received by UCL was 23, and offer holders averaged 29 (29.4 on UCL’s university-wide page; 26.3 for contextual offers). Each year UCL sets a benchmark threshold score from the previous years’ averages. Internet Archive copy captured 16 April 2026.
Oxford’s round for 2025 entry: 2,061 applicants, 641 shortlisted; average Section A score 24.5 for all candidates and 30.96 for those receiving an offer.
Version 1.0 of 14 May 2026, for M100 and MR20 (and two courses entered by transfer). All applicants must take the LNAT. Bristol takes into account GCSE results, achieved or predicted A-level results and the LNAT score, and applications are primarily assessed on scores based on GCSE and A-level results. The essay is read and assessed by Bristol staff, who look for the ability to make and sustain a persuasive argument and a strong command of language. The personal statement and reference are not normally considered, but may be used if many applicants have the same academic score. No routine interviews. Contextual offers are usually two grades lower. Near misses are reviewed in August. The January LNAT deadline is described as final.
The last statement to publish a weighting: applications were scored and ranked with GCSEs at 20%, A-levels at 40% and the LNAT at 40%. The same sentence is in the 2021 to 2024 statements; the 2026 and 2027 statements give no percentages. Internet Archive copy captured 25 June 2025.
Statement of 1 July 2020. Besides the 20/40/40 weighting, it says that the overall LNAT grade Bristol used was weighted 60% on the multiple-choice questions and 40% on the essay. Later statements do not repeat this. Internet Archive copy captured 7 May 2021.
Reply to John Dimitroulopoulos’s request of 8 December 2017. For entry in 2013/14 to 2016/17: average numbers of GCSEs at A*, A, B and C of applicants and offer holders (offer holders’ average A* grades 3.42, 3.36, 4.30 and 4.25), predicted A-level grades and IB points, and applications, offer holders, firm choices, offer holders who met their offer and near misses. The LNAT score stored by Bristol is the combined total of the multiple-choice test and the essay; the multiple-choice part cannot be retrieved on its own.
Replies to Nicoletta Epaminonda’s request of 20 June 2021. In the 2020-21 cycle Law applicants were considered on their combined LNAT and academic scores, and those whose overall score fell below a threshold were not considered; the threshold was not given because it is not directly relatable to LNAT scores. The first reply gives offer holders’ average LNAT result in the 2020 admissions cycle as a percentage measure (37.6 for M100); the second gives their average multiple-choice score: 22.3 for M100 (Law and French 22.7, Law and German 21.8, Law and Spanish 23.4).
Reply to M. Armstrong’s request of 27 September 2019. Mean LNAT results of applicants to M100, MR11, MR12 and MR13 for the 2013 to 2018 cycles, as a percentage of the total score available: all applicants 55.55, 57.31, 62.79, 57.60, 52.41 and 50.74; offer holders 55.38, 59.13, 66.20, 60.09, 56.02 and 55.08; applicants who accepted an offer 51.30, 58.96, 64.60, 58.51, 54.02 and 53.18.
A scheme separate from contextual offers, for Home applicants who are local and state-educated, take an Access to HE course, complete a Bristol widening-participation programme or were eligible for free school meals. Where a course requires a test such as the LNAT, applicants must score above a threshold, which is not published, to be considered for the guarantee.
For Home fee students at state schools and colleges in a BA, BS or other local postcode within an hour of the University, in their first or second year of A-level study. One online study-skills session and five on-campus Wednesday afternoons in one term; Law runs in autumn and spring. Completers are guaranteed a contextual offer for courses that do not interview, provided they score above the threshold in any admissions test such as the LNAT. Applications for 2026-27 have closed.
The page as it stood in June 2025: the deadline for the 2025 cycle was 29 January 2025, extended to 31 March 2025 (or the closure of the course, if earlier) while Law applications remained open to overseas applicants.
The page as it stood in May 2026: the deadline for the 2026 cycle was 14 January 2026, extended to 30 April 2026 (or the closure of the course, if earlier) for overseas applicants only, because Law applications remained open to them.
All undergraduate law applicants must take the LNAT. For the 2027 application cycle the deadline is 13 January 2027, and tests taken later are disregarded. Only an LNAT taken in the current cycle counts. Bristol recommends taking the test at the earliest possible date, and says it may grant extensions in exceptional circumstances.
Reply to a request of 29 April 2026, with the spreadsheet "FOI2526 442 Response Data.xlsx". LLB Law (M100) applicants with overseas fee status, by academic year of entry (deferred applications included). Conditional offers 432, 512 and 642 for 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26; firm responses 227, 250 and 310; offer holders who missed their conditions and were not accepted 42, 69 and 65; who missed them and were accepted 31, 33 and 56. Also the achieved A-levels and Section A scores of those who missed their conditions; in 2025/26 accepted applicants who had missed their conditions scored from 9 upwards, and the largest groups scored 19 (5), 20 (10) and 21 (6).
The five criteria for 2027 entry: an aspiring state school or college; a home postcode in IMD quintile 1 or 2; completing a Bristol widening-participation programme; three months or more in local authority care; eligibility for free school meals during secondary education. Contextual offers are only for applicants with home fee status who are taking A-levels or the IB and apply through UCAS, and eligibility is taken from the UCAS form. Bristol Scholars receive a tailored offer instead.
For 2027 entry, applicants to Bristol and Durham must book a test before 13 January 2027, submit the UCAS form by 6pm on that day and sit the test on or before it. Registration opened on 1 August 2026 and testing on 1 September 2026. Oxford and Cambridge applicants must sit the test by 15 October 2026, and King’s, LSE and UCL applicants by 31 December 2026.
For 2027 entry the equal consideration date for most undergraduate courses is 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time.
Applications and offers, and the grades you need.
Applications and offers since 2015, Home and overseas applicants, and who gets in.
Open Overview →The A*AA or A*A*B offer, what offer holders were predicted, GCSEs and the contextual offer.
Open Grades →Nine UK universities currently use the LNAT. See where Bristol sits.
View comparison →