Grades, A*AA.
The standard offer is one A* and two A grades at A-Level. GCSE expectations sit in the background; contextual offers can move the line by a grade.
LSE Law
GRADES
The A-Level offer
LSE's standard conditional offer for the LLB in Laws is A*AA at A-Level.[3] The A* can be in any of the three A-Level subjects; there is no required subject. Law itself is neither required nor advantaged. GCSE English Language is the only specific qualification expected.[3]
Contextual (WP)
AAB
One grade lower across the offer for students meeting LSE Widening Participation (LSE Pathways to Law — Sutton Trust) criteria.[4]
IB
38 points
Including 7 6 6 at Higher Level.[3] Equivalent qualifications converted on a published table.
Subject choice
- No required A-Level subject. Law, History, Politics, English Literature, Languages, Maths, Sciences all welcome. LSE explicitly does not advantage applicants who have taken A-Level Law.[3]
- Keep "non-preferred" subjects out of your top three. LSE publishes a list (General Studies, Critical Thinking, World Development) that won't count toward the offer. Fine as a fourth A-Level, not in the A*AA-forming three.[3]
- A fourth A-Level isn't required. Most applicants present three. A fourth doesn't earn extra credit but doesn't hurt.
The A* is in any subject. Unlike Cambridge Law (which often expects an A* in an essay subject), LSE makes no specification about which A-Level should hold the A*.[3] Pick the subject in which you are most confident of an A*.
How LSE handles predicted grades
LSE asks for predicted grades on the UCAS form and treats them as the entry signal. Predicted below A*AA, an offer is still possible, but the LNAT and personal statement have to override the school's stated minimum. The reverse — predicted A*A*A* — doesn't earn a higher offer; the offer is set at the school standard.[3]
GCSEs
LSE does not publish a hard GCSE threshold for the LLB in Laws, and treats GCSEs as one indicator among several. GCSE English Language at grade 6 (or B in the old system) is the single named requirement.[3]
What LSE looks at
- GCSE English Language at grade 6. The only named GCSE requirement on the LLB Laws programme page.[3]
- Overall GCSE strength is read holistically. A spread of 7s, 8s, and 9s (or A*s/As in legacy grading) is the conventional "strong" profile, but LSE doesn't specify a count of 9s or 8s the way some Russell-Group law schools do.
- Contextual data is applied automatically. Admissions tutors are told to weigh below-average school GCSE outcomes.[4]
[DATA GAP: LSE does not publish a GCSE distribution for offer holders the way Oxford does. The above is reconstructed from the programme page and the Widening Participation (LSE Pathways to Law — Sutton Trust) policy; no equivalent of Oxford's FOI 202307/668 is available for LSE.]
If your GCSEs are mixed
A mixed GCSE record isn't fatal at LSE so long as A-Level prediction and LNAT are strong. No interview means no chance to explain the record in person — flag any disruption (illness, family circumstance, late-start moves) in the UCAS reference. The personal statement is not the place; the reference is.
Contextual offers
LSE operates a published Widening Participation (LSE Pathways to Law — Sutton Trust) (WP) scheme. Applicants who meet specific criteria can be made a contextual offer one grade below the standard — that is, AAB rather than A*AA for the LLB in Laws.[4]
Who qualifies (LSE criteria)
- School performance: attendance at a UK school whose GCSE / A-Level outcomes sit below the national average, as identified in the LSE WP eligibility list.[4]
- Care experience: applicants who have spent time in local-authority care.
- POLAR / IMD postcode: applicants from areas in the lowest two POLAR quintiles or top deciles of the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
- LSE outreach participation: completion of LSE Widening Participation (LSE Pathways to Law — Sutton Trust) programmes (e.g. Pathways to Law, LSE Pathways to Law (Sutton Trust partnership)).
What the contextual offer changes
WP contextual offer
AAB
For applicants who meet at least one WP criterion at the point of application.[4]
You do not have to apply for a contextual offer separately. LSE applies WP flags automatically using the UCAS form and verified school / postcode data. The applicant does not need to claim it — but you should make sure the UCAS form lists your school correctly.[4]
[DATA GAP: LSE does not publish the share of LLB Laws offers that are contextual vs standard. We cannot confirm what proportion of the 353 offers in 2021/22 were AAB.]
Grade strategy
LSE doesn't interview for Law, so the grade profile is one of three signals in front of the admissions tutor (the others being the LNAT and the personal statement). Strategy depends on which of the three you're weakest on.
Profile 1
Strong predictions, average LNAT
A*A*A predictions with a 24-25 LNAT MCQ score puts you on the bubble. Your statement needs to do real work. The grade prediction alone will not pull you in.
Profile 2
A*AA predicted, strong LNAT
If you can sit at the offer line on grades and bring a 27+ LNAT, you become hard to reject. LSE's no-interview model rewards visible strength on the metric they can score.
Profile 3
WP applicant, AAB target
The contextual offer halves the grade pressure. Spend the saved bandwidth on the LNAT and on a statement that reads as the work of an undergraduate, not a sixth-former.
Three concrete actions
- Get your school to send a strong reference. The reference is the only place where context (disruption, late-start) can be explained. The personal statement should be about Law, not about you.
- Treat the LNAT as half the application. No interview means the LNAT is the only externally-scored data point LSE has on you.
- Don't over-stack on A-Levels. Four strong A-Levels doesn't beat three excellent ones. LSE makes offers on three.
Sources cited on this page
Every claim above ends in a [n] superscript that links here.
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[3]
LSE — LLB Bachelor of Laws programme page PROGRAMME
Single-programme overview. UCAS code M100. Standard offer A*AA. GCSE English Language at grade 6. LNAT required.
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[4]
LSE — Widening Participation (LSE Pathways to Law — Sutton Trust) policy POLICY
Contextual offer scheme. AAB rather than A*AA for applicants who meet at least one WP criterion. Applied automatically using UCAS data.
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[5]
LSE Information Records Management — Admissions Data REPORT
LSE's published admissions workbooks (2020/21, 2021/22) — applications, offers, registrations by programme and nationality.