25th August 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A recent survey has suggested that there are likely to be far fewer university places available through clearing this year. Clearing is the process used for those students who don’t achieve the grades needed to win a place at their first or second choice university. The reason for so few places through clearing is the consistent increase in students applying to university. The figure this year is over 660,000 students, up 12% on last year, which was the previous record.
There are a handful of universities, Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL, Bristol and Edinburgh, which don’t use the clearing process, but this year Birmingham and Imperial have also said that they don’t plan to have any places available through clearing. Many other top universities have not ruled out the possibility of accepting students through clearing, but have expressed pessimism about whether any places will be available. Thames Valley University, which offered places to 700 students through clearing last year, said that the figure for 2010 is likely to be closer to 250.
Universities Minister, David Willetts, said that students with very good A-level grades might still find themselves without a university place. He added “It is going to be tough. There are young people who sadly are not going to get a place, including perhaps some young people who really have got good A-level grades, and for them there is a whole range of options.“ Among these options are retaking A-levels, or applying for apprenticeships.