Lilian Robinson

Having a career in law was Lilian Robinson’s aim ever since she started the Bishop of Llandaff High School, a state-funded high school in Llandaff, Cardiff.

She worked hard to achieve good GCSE grades at high school, and went on to choose A Levels in English Literature, French, History and Maths to help prepare for law school.

Part-way through her A Levels she started to research undergraduate courses and how the various universities dealt with applications.

It was then she learned about the National Admissions Test for Law and which universities required it.

 “I needed to sit the LNAT as I had applied to Kings College London and Oxford,” she explained. “At first, I didn’t know what to expect of the test, so I found the website extremely useful. I downloaded the practice tests to see what they were like, and found the information and break-down of each section of the test very helpful. “

She found parts of the test were easier than others. “The most challenging part of the test for me was the comprehension, “ she said. “The multiple choice answers were all very similar, so I found it helpful to read the selection of answers before reading the text, that way I knew what to look out for.

“Some of the answers were more obvious than others – for example when the question contained figures – but it was a totally different style of test than I was used to which required lateral and creative thinking.”

Overall, Lilian preferred the essay section of the test.  “The essay titles were all interesting and I liked that I did not have to prepare any specialist knowledge to be able to write about them.

“The time allocated to write the essay didn’t seem long but I found that being disciplined about time, and writing a concise essay, helped.

“A few months later I received a mark for the comprehension section, which I was really pleased with.”

Lilian went on to have an interview at Oxford University – and successfully earned a place studying law there.

“I found out that my interviewers at Oxford had read the essay that I had written, though it wasn’t discussed in the interview,” she said.

Now, Lilian is part-way through her studies and has completed a work experience placement at Eversheds law firm in London.

“I have just completed the first year of my course which I’ve really enjoyed and, having managed to put some of the skills and knowledge I’ve gained from my studies into practice during my work experience placement, I’m even more confident that law is the right career for me.

 “Looking back, I can see that the skills required for the LNAT, such as being selective with large amounts of text and being able to differentiate between similar concepts, are skills that I now use on my course. I think they will also stand me in good stead as my law career progresses too.”