Grades to get into top unis - LSE, Cambridge, Oxford, KCL etc,,

1.

Don't be swayed by the Russell Group label - there are plenty of very high performing unis (e.g Bath, Loughborough, Lancaster, St Andrews) who are not in the group. Instead I'd take a look at one of the league tables like the complete university guide and use that as a starting point.

2.

Most unis will will only ask for three A Levels but if you wanted to do something extra, then perhaps consider taking up an EPQ as these are highly regarded and if you get an A some unis will consider you for an alternative offer one grade or so below the typical offer.

3.

Unis consider a number of factors when looking at an application and so its very difficult to predict who you will get offers from. I would, when you're looking at courses you may want to go for, to double check any GCSE requirements they have (for example some will want a 4/7 in GSE maths and/or english but may will not).

4.

The general advice is to go for one aspirational uni (requirements 1-2 grades above what you're predicted), 2-3 realistic unis (requirements that match your PGs) and one insurance choice (requirements 1-2 grades below your PGs) that you'd be more than happy to go to but is there as a safety net in case things don't go your way on results day.