Record number of students gain university places through clearing on A-level results day, figures show

A record number of students went through clearing on result day, figures show, as universities attempt to snap up candidates ahead of their rivals.

By midnight on A-level results day, 11,180 students had secured university places through clearing, which is more than double the number five years ago, according to Ucas, the university admissions service.

In 2013, 5570 students went through clearing on results day, and the number has been growing steadily year on year.

Some universities are offering cash bonuses, laptops, gym membership and even free flights in an attempt to lure in students.

Several Russell Group universities drastically lowered their offers on Thursday in order to sure up places, with courses normally requiring As and A*s at A-level being offered to students through clearing.

The lifting of student number controls in England in 2015 gave universities free rein to recruit as many undergraduates as they see fit - but the move has led to accusations that they now act like businesses, seeking to maximise their revenue by recruiting as many students as possible.

Students can apply for courses through clearing up any time to September 2, but Ucas predict that there will be a surge this weekend with the majority of applicants will have been placed by the end of Monday.

Christina Edgar, head of admissions at the University of Sheffield, has said that clearing used to be seen as a shameful process for students who failed to achieve the grades they needed for their first choice university.

But now there is no longer has a “stigma” attached to it, she said, because rather than students competing to win a finite number of places at top institutions, it is the universities which are vying against one another to attract as many students as possible.

“A few years ago you would not have seen many Russell Group universities or those higher up in the rankings in clearing as they would have filled up their places earlier in the [admissions] cycle,” she said.

“Now there is just more choice – and attitudes have also changed. I think there was a stigma attached to it, unfortunately, as it was people chasing a set number of places. It is certainly not the case now. Practically every university will advertise places on their courses, it is a crowded market place.”

Universities are turning to Snapchat and WhatsApp to make offers to students as they scrabble to fill up courses during the “clearing” process. A number of institutions are preparing to make offers via social media app for the first time, in a bid to reach students faster than their rivals.

On A-level results day, typically students who fail to make their grades for their first choice offer would phone up universities on a special clearing hotline to see if they could get on to a course.

But with fierce competition between universities to fill up their places, institutions have developed novel ways to get hold of students as quickly as possible. A total of 437,070 students were accepted on to degree courses at British universities on Thursday, which is down 1.3 per cent compared to last year, according to Ucas figures.

The dip in applications was caused by a significant drop in the number of EU students in the wake of the Brexit vote, combined with a decline in the youth population.