FORCED TO TAKE A GAP YEAR

Students fear no university till 2021 – even if they win their A-level appeal

STUDENTS face being forced to take a gap year after Oxford, Cambridge and other universities said they may not have room for them even if they successfully challenge their A-level grades.

Almost four in ten results were downgraded by exam watchdog Ofqual from the marks submitted by teachers.

This meant thousands of upset students could have missed out on their university offers, with many planning to appeal.

But the entire appeals system is mired in confusion, with little clarity on what form it will take and how long it will last.

Schools, through which appeals have to be made, face a race against time to ensure their pupils can be regraded before the September 7 deadline set by Ucas to meet university offer conditions.

But even if students successfully challenge their results, leading universities said yesterday they may have to defer places until next year as they are almost full due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Oxford said it would not be possible to meet ‘ongoing social distancing restrictions’ if it went above its maximum intake.

A Cambridge University spokesman said: ‘Regrettably there are physical limits to the numbers of students we can accommodate.’

The university said it will honour every offer where grades are met, but may need to ask students with revised results to defer entry to autumn 2021.

University College London has also warned that any revised grades that come in after September 18 will mean a year’s deferral.

Although this is 11 days after the Ucas deadline, it is still not clear whether exam boards will be able to deal with the expected flood of appeals before either date.

The Department for Education is set to tell schools it will cover any costs associated with exam appeals. They are normally charged if appeals are rejected.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb will