Clearing without the pain for A-level pupils

EDUCATION EDITOR UNIVERSITIES desperate to fill lucrative places will this year offer students courses they have not applied for, as part of an alternative service to clearing.

As students prepare to collect their A-level results in the week ahead, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) is offering a new service under which those who simply want a degree will be offered a place on a course they may not have considered.

Unlike clearing, where applicants contact universities for unfilled places, institutions will contact candidates directly if they think they are suitable for a course.

Almost 150,000 students who believe they will be without an offer on Thursday have already signed up following a pilot of the “direct contact” service last year, and Ucas expects the number to rise.

This year, record numbers of students will go through clearing, which will be altered in several ways to cope with demand.

One change is that applicants will be able to start looking for places for clearing at 3pm, rather than the usual 6pm.

Russell Group universities, including Newcastle, will also offer accommodation to students who go through clearing.

Since the rise in tuition fees to £9,000 and a drop in applicant numbers, students have faced a buyers’ market.