Students begin annual scramble for Clearing places

guardian.co.uk 17th August 2006
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Donald MacLeod. Additional reporting by David Brill and Jess Goodman.

The annual Clearing scramble for places at UK universities started as frantically as ever this morning with EducationGuardian.co.uk's listings service reporting activity from the early hours and admissions tutors fielding calls from 8am onwards.

Today's record A-level results mean fewer places on offer, especially at the most popular institutions, but there are still more than 37,000 vacancies according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas).

Applications this year were slightly down after last year's rush to beat £3,000 tuition fees and many universities are under pressure to fill their quota of places. Everyone is waiting to see whether hard-pressed admissions officers will offer to cut course fees or offer extra bursaries to tempt candidates.

The president of Universities UK, Drummond Bone, admitted it was a "temptation" for institutions but said that universities would risk their long-term reputations by doing so.

Headteachers warned against students deciding their future on the basis of "Ryanair in reverse" pricing offers, but there is no evidence yet of young people battering their way to bursaries during Clearing.

Enquiries by EducationGuardian.co.uk show this year's Clearing is a game of two sectors - the most prestigious institutions are putting up the "no vacancies" sign quicker than in previous years but a number of universities are heavily dependent on the coming weeks to fill places, so there are plenty of chances for candidates who didn't get the grades they wanted today, provided they are prepared to be flexible.

Ucas said the percentage of students accepted on a university or college course has increased this year despite a reduction of 3.7% in the number of people applying - 55.9% of students have had their places confirmed compared to 54.7% at the same point last year.

When the results-day figures are released, it is expected that the number of acceptances will exceed 300,000 - almost 5,000 more than last year, which was a record year for Ucas, said a spokesman.

Anthony McClaran, the Ucas chief executive, commented: "New Ucas systems, together with working closely with the exam boards and admissions officers, have resulted in faster processing of the decisions taken by the universities and colleges ensuring that the majority of applicants will know their position on the day that they receive their exam results."

At the posh end of the market the London School of Economics, University College London, St Andrews and Bristol - not to mention Oxbridge - have no places and there is no point in trying to squeeze into a medical school at this stage.

For the first time, Edinburgh, which takes about 4,000 students a year, filled all courses before Clearing started, including subjects that are harder to fill like engineering and modern languages. This may reflect the attractions for England-based students of paying lower tuition fees in Scotland as Edinburgh traditionally attracts a large contingent from south of the border.

Warwick expects to offer a few dozen places through Clearing in engineering, biological sciences, computer sciences and early childhood studies. Nottingham has about 200 to 300 places (compared with 400 last year), again in engineering and science subjects. Surrey has about 200 places across 42 courses (fewer than last year, which was about 300).

York has 15 courses in Clearing, including history of art, language and linguistics, engineering, and biology. Birmingham has approximately 200 places, very similar to last year, mostly in sciences and engineering.

City University has around 275 places available this year - around 15% of total students - fewer that its usual 300-350 and comments that there are no signs yet of top-up fees having any impact.

But among the modern universities, Lincoln has places on most courses. In Bristol, the University of the West of England is expecting to recruit 500 students through Clearing (about 8% of its intake).

Oxford Brookes and Sheffield Hallam both have about 200 places, very similar to last year. In Scotland, where Clearing has been running for a week since the Highers results the University of Paisley reports limited vacancies in engineering and science, computing, media, business and social sciences, while Glasgow Caledonian said it has now filled most courses.

In Wales, where students do not face top-up fees, the University of Wales Institute Cardiff has about 450 places compared to 550 last year, and Lampeter about 40 places, the same as last year.

The University of Central England, in Birmingham, has 600 (15%) places available through Clearing, 15 more than last year. "In the interests of equity towards students who applied earlier in the cycle we will not alter our bursary or tuition fee policy for Clearing applicants," said a spokesperson.