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Be quick to get to top unis in clearing - Ucas

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Students will need to be "quick off the mark" to get a place at a top university through clearing this year, according to the head of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas).

Clare Marchant said "highly selective courses" would "go quite quickly".

She has stressed there will be a "wide range of opportunities" elsewhere.

Clearing allows students who want to go to university to search for courses that still have vacancies.

It is often used by those who missed the A-level or equivalent grades they needed to take up a university offer.

But it is also used by applicants who achieved higher grades than they expected, or who have changed their minds.

Results for A-levels, T-levels, BTecs and other Level 3 results will be released on 17 August.

The number of 18-year-olds in the population is growing, so it could be more competitive to get a place at universities asking for the highest grades, like elite Russell Group universities.

Applications to undergraduate courses from international students are also up slightly on last year.

Speaking to PA news agency, Ms Marchant said students should be "pretty quick off the mark" if they wanted to get to top universities through clearing.

In a separate interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said "the vast majority will absolutely get their first choice next week".

She said "any year is competitive", but added: "This year we are seeing a rise in the number of 18-year-olds in the population, and so at those highly selective courses at highly selective institutions, it's likely to be more competitive than it was last year."

Ucas has stressed that there will still be a "wide range of opportunities" for students in clearing.

There are more than 28,000 courses currently available in the online system, she said - about 5,000 of which are at highly selective institutions.

Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK, told the programme that students should research what is available ahead of results day "so you've got a plan for if you for some reason, don't get the grades you're expecting".

The Russell Group said it was "not unusual" for its member universities to have "fewer courses than other universities in clearing".

"The confirmation from Ofqual that grade distributions will return to 2019 levels has given universities more confidence in making offers compared to last year, which may mean universities have less flexibility to offer courses in clearing in some subjects," it said.

"However, most Russell Group universities have courses available in clearing this year, across a range of subjects, as they have done in past years and more courses will become available after results day."

Clearing closes on 17 October.

Last year, 34,875 18-year-olds secured a university place through the system.

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Ms Marchant said last month that while there is a "small gradual decline in the number of courses" in clearing, "we must collectively reassure applicants that there will still be plenty of choices available for those still actively seeking progression to HE [higher education] after results day".

Students in Scotland received their exam results on Tuesday. The pass rate fell - but remains higher than before the Covid pandemic.

Results in England are predicted to fall back in line with pre-pandemic levels this year, after three years of higher grades.

However, because of the disruption caused by Covid, exam boards will be "slightly" more lenient than before the pandemic when deciding grade boundaries. This will protect students who performed slightly less well in these exams than expected.

Pupils in Wales and Northern Ireland were given advance information about papers this year - but that was not the case in England.