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| A-level results 2013: Universities compete for top students | A-level results 2013: Universities compete for top students |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are finding out whether they have made the grade in their A-levels, as universities compete to attract them. | Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are finding out whether they have made the grade in their A-levels, as universities compete to attract them. |
| Last year saw the first fall in 20 years in the proportion of entries getting the top grades. | Last year saw the first fall in 20 years in the proportion of entries getting the top grades. |
| The university admissions body UCAS has said a record number of students have been accepted by UK universities. | |
| Insiders say they expect results to be "stable" this year. | Insiders say they expect results to be "stable" this year. |
| Under changes, universities in England are being allowed to admit as many top-performing students as they want to. | Under changes, universities in England are being allowed to admit as many top-performing students as they want to. |
| Some are keen to expand and are running big marketing campaigns and offering students extra incentives. | Some are keen to expand and are running big marketing campaigns and offering students extra incentives. |
| As of midnight, 385,910 students had been accepted on to university courses, according to UCAS. | |
| This is 31,600 more than at the same point last year and a rise of nine percentage points. | |
| Many universities will be hoping not to repeat last year's experience, where thousands of course places were left unfilled. One estimate suggested that 11,500 places were not taken up among the group of 24 leading UK universities which make up the Russell Group. | |
| Last year, universities were allowed to take in extra students who had the top grades of at least AAB or the equivalent, but this year that pool of students has been increased to include anyone achieving ABB or more. | |
| About 100,000 teenagers make that grade. | About 100,000 teenagers make that grade. |
| Universities are given individual limits for the number of under-graduates they can recruit with results lower than that. | Universities are given individual limits for the number of under-graduates they can recruit with results lower than that. |
| The change was part of a move to increase market forces in England's university system and allow popular universities to expand and came in alongside higher tuition fees, which rose to a maximum of £9,000 a year from autumn 2012. | The change was part of a move to increase market forces in England's university system and allow popular universities to expand and came in alongside higher tuition fees, which rose to a maximum of £9,000 a year from autumn 2012. |
| Universities Minister David Willetts told the BBC the increase in students being accepted on to courses was due to government reforms to open up the system and make it easier for universities "to take on the people that they want to recruit". | |
| Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said "uncertainties" in the new system meant universities might have more places to offer well-qualified students through Clearing - the process which matches students to spare course places. | Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said "uncertainties" in the new system meant universities might have more places to offer well-qualified students through Clearing - the process which matches students to spare course places. |
| 'Competitive market' | |
| "We hope this year's change to a lower threshold of ABB or equivalent will reduce some of the unintended consequences from last year when students who wanted to attend a leading university and had the right qualifications were not able to - even when those universities wanted to accept them," she said. | "We hope this year's change to a lower threshold of ABB or equivalent will reduce some of the unintended consequences from last year when students who wanted to attend a leading university and had the right qualifications were not able to - even when those universities wanted to accept them," she said. |
| Many of the more selective universities are expected to be offering places through Clearing this year. | Many of the more selective universities are expected to be offering places through Clearing this year. |
| Prof Dominic Shellard, vice-chancellor of Leicester's De Montfort University, said: "Universities are competing in a fiercely competitive open market. It's the second year of the new tuition fee regime and behaviour is changing. The best universities are recruiting strongly." | |
| Last year's A-level results showed the first drop in 20 years in the proportion of exam entries being awarded top A and A* grades. | Last year's A-level results showed the first drop in 20 years in the proportion of exam entries being awarded top A and A* grades. |
| A total of 26.6% of A-level entries achieved the top two grades - down from 27% the previous year. | A total of 26.6% of A-level entries achieved the top two grades - down from 27% the previous year. |
| Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders - which represents secondary school and college heads - believes A-level results will be "stable" this year. | |
| "It is difficult to predict but I am not expecting anything desperately dramatic," he said. | "It is difficult to predict but I am not expecting anything desperately dramatic," he said. |
| "A-levels are in a pretty stable state. We are used to teaching them and know what to expect, but the instability is going to happen in the future." | "A-levels are in a pretty stable state. We are used to teaching them and know what to expect, but the instability is going to happen in the future." |
| Some insiders predict the results will show a continuing rise in numbers studying traditional academic subjects such as maths, physics and chemistry at A-level. Exam entries for these subjects rose last year, while those for modern languages continued to fall. | Some insiders predict the results will show a continuing rise in numbers studying traditional academic subjects such as maths, physics and chemistry at A-level. Exam entries for these subjects rose last year, while those for modern languages continued to fall. |
| The results coming out on Thursday are for A- and AS-level exams taken by pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. | The results coming out on Thursday are for A- and AS-level exams taken by pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| Pupils in Scotland got the results of their Highers and Standard Grades early last week, with the pass rate for both rising slightly. | Pupils in Scotland got the results of their Highers and Standard Grades early last week, with the pass rate for both rising slightly. |
| While many teenagers will start work at 18, more than half of UK A-level students will opt to go on to university. | While many teenagers will start work at 18, more than half of UK A-level students will opt to go on to university. |
| A-levels are set to change from 2015. Under coalition plans for England, the AS-level will no longer count towards the final A-level grade and all exams will be taken at the end of two years. | A-levels are set to change from 2015. Under coalition plans for England, the AS-level will no longer count towards the final A-level grade and all exams will be taken at the end of two years. |
| Advice on Clearing is available on the Ucas website. | Advice on Clearing is available on the Ucas website. |