A Harrogate school is bucking the national trend by continuing to offer pupils the chance to study A Level Law – a course hailed by a former student as 'an amazing gateway' into the profession.
While some schools have chosen to withdraw the option completely from their curriculum, Ashville has instead enjoyed success from its AQA A Level, with pupils progressing to study Law at leading UK universities.
A total of 14,973 students nationwide took A-level law in 2025, placing it as the 17th most popular subject choice, way behind the top three of Maths (112,138), Psychology (75,943) and Biology (71,400) and still some way short of Geography (34,336), Media Studies (23,320), Computer Science (19,800) and Religious Studies (16,439).
However Ashville - named this month as one of the leading independent schools in the North of England - has been offering its specialist Law course since 2023.
Four of its initial cohort have gone on to study the subject at university, with two at Newcastle, one at Keele, and one at Northumbria.
Amongst the current crop of Upper Sixth (Year 13), there are also eight pupils who have recently taken up work experience placements with leading law firms such as Addleshaw Goddard, Ison Harrison, and Gordons LLP.
Harrogate’s Ben Ewing, one of the former Ashville pupils now studying law at Newcastle University, believes his A Level Law grounding was not only crucial in securing his degree place, but has already proven invaluable during his first term of studies.
He said:
“Law is an amazing gateway and a great degree for many career options. It gives you a good grounding as the law is attached to every aspect of life.
“I first gave it some proper thought in Year 11 when I was considering my A Level options. Ashville held a subjects’ fair, which I found really interesting. I chose Law, Politics and Economics.
“Studying A Level Law has been a tremendous help for me. It has made the transition to being an undergraduate much easier. I settled into the course straight away, and I feel I can process the information quicker.”
He added:
“I have been lucky enough to be chosen as one of twelve students for the prestigious Sequentus programme, a pro bono experience helping students get unparalleled access to criminal defence work by actively assisting clients with wrongful conviction applications.”
One of the many Sixth Form options now available as part of the school’s new Six@Ashville educational pathway, the A Level course is run by Graeme Stonehouse, a former senior lawyer who specialised in civil litigation before becoming Yorkshire Water’s Senior Litigation Lawyer.
Head of Ashville, Rhiannon Wilkinson, said:
“Law is a fascinating subject that touches upon all aspects of modern life and continues to excite and interest young people who are looking at their options for further education and potentially future employment.
“National statistics prove there is a need for an A Level introduction into law, and I am delighted that, through the expert teaching of Graeme, we can provide our pupils with a grounding that will set them up perfectly for the next stage in their educational development.”
Ashville’s new Six@Ashville concept offers a fresh look at the way further education courses are managed with a dynamic curriculum, flexibility, individual support, greater opportunities, more balance and the freedom where pupils are treated like young adults.
Providing a pathway to global higher education destinations, the exciting new concept has been implemented around the new purpose-built Sixth Form Centre, unveiled this autumn.
As a core part of the school’s multi-million pound masterplan to reimagine its academic and sporting facilities within its 70-acre campus, the new Sixth Form Centre offers pupils the use of a cafe and social hub, a collaborative study zone, an ‘academic buzz’ space and areas for individual study.
This month, Ashville was again named in the top ten independent schools in the North of England by the Sunday Times’ Parent Power 2026 rankings, based on its stellar academic results in 2025.
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