A-level results: 250,000 in wait for university places

There are now 372,000 students with university places confirmed, with a further 250,000 still waiting, on the day after A-level results.

Admissions figures on Friday morning show there are 170,000 students eligible for clearing - and a further 80,000 are awaiting decisions.

Ucas is expecting about 50,000 places to be available through clearing.

At the University of Ulster, an errror saw 370 students offered places which were then withdrawn.

The University of Ulster said that an acceptance email had accidentally been sent to some applicants who were not being offered places.

'Systems were slow'

Figures from the Ucas admissions service show there are 372,000 students accepted, including overseas students - compared with 402,000 at this stage last year.

The total number of places to be filled this year is expected to be about 500,000.

This year has seen changes to the admissions process - with universities allowed to recruit an unlimited number of students with AAB A-level grades or better.

Even though many universities are not using this flexibility there has been uncertainty about how this might affect the allocation of places.

The numbers of confirmed places is so far lower than last year - with the suggestion that some universities are pausing over their awarding of places.

There are financial awards still on offer from some universities to students with AAB grades.

The number of students with these AAB grades is believed to have fallen by several thousand this year - which will have implications for the number of places available for other students.

There were also technical delays which meant that some students could not see whether their places were confirmed.

De Montfort University had used Twitter to air concerns about technical problems facing applicants.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: "Results day is a stressful time, so we were very concerned to learn of the disruption to the Ucas service yesterday, and I sympathise with anyone who has encountered problems."

In response to the problems, Ucas issued a statement: "Systems were slow yesterday and some decisions were not processed very quickly.

"This meant that some students could not check to see whether or not they had a place at university."

But by Friday morning, the number of students waiting to hear a decision was broadly similar to last year.

For students who missed out on their required grades and are rejected, the clearing system matches them with available vacancies - with this number diminishing as places are offered and accepted.

The clearing process has so far found places for almost 4,200 students - and this will continue in the forthcoming days and weeks up to the beginning of term.

The admissions service expects a similar number of places to be available through clearing as last year, when about 50,000 students were found places.

The changes to this year's admissions were hailed by the Universities Minister David Willetts as an increase for student choice.

"I think that our reforms are going to put more power in the hands of students and of course for those who got AAB or better, now those controls have gone, they can go to the university of their choice, subject to the university's own capacity," said Mr Willetts.

But the National Union of Students said there was "absolutely no evidence" to suggest that these reforms will "create more choice for students".

The union's vice-president, Rachel Wenstone, said: "Overall, fewer applicants than last year have had their places confirmed and, as a result of the minister's tinkering with student number controls, many now face an anxious wait."

The A-level results published on Thursday showed a slight fall in the proportion of entries gaining the top A and A* grades - the first such decline in 20 years.

Students in England will become the first intake to pay the higher tuition fees of up to £9,000 per year.

As well as competition for students between UK universities, there are also students who will look abroad.

Harvard in the United States is believed to have accepted about 30 UK students from the current cohort - including George Baxter from Brentwood School in Essex, who achieved four A* grades.

The government of South Australia is also launching a recruitment campaign to attract students to Adelaide.

It is challenging UK universities with the promise of "surf lessons between lectures, BBQs on the deck and hammocks in sun-soaked student apartments".


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