A-level pupils who missed their grades were today rushing to get places through Clearing with three quarters of elite universities now hunting for students.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) runs a process each summer to match students with university or college courses which still have spaces.

Pupils can use the scheme if they do not get the grades for a conditional offer, do not receive any offers they want to accept or decide after June 30 to apply for university.

Anyone who achieves better grades than expected and wishes to change universities can also use Clearing, which is open on the Ucas website from July 5 to October 5.

Students can add a choice in the Ucas hub from 1pm this afternoon – and about 50,000 people tend to find their place through the scheme each year.

Some 18 of the 24 Russell Group universities said yesterday they still have places up for grabs, including Durham, Bristol and King’s College London.

Between them, they have 3,492 courses available – 13 per cent of the total 27,000 which are still on offer across all universities.

It comes as Ucas figures showed the number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen to a record high year.

Students receive their A-level results at Solihill School in the West Midlands this morning

Students receive their A-level results at The Latimer Arts College in Northamptonshire today

A total of 439,180 applicants have gained a place at university or college – up 3.1 per cent on the same point last year.

Ucas said it is the highest number of placed students on results day on record.

Overall, 82 per cent of UK 18-year-old applicants awaiting a decision on results day secured their first choice – which was the same proportion as last year.

For 18-year-olds in the UK, 255,130 applicants have been accepted onto a university or college course – up 4.7 per cent on last year.

The number of international students who have been accepted on to undergraduate courses has risen by 2.9 per cent – from 51,170 last year to 52,640.

Accepted applicants from China (12,380) are up 13 per cent compared with last year.

Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, said: ‘This year’s students were just thirteen when the pandemic hit, and their secondary schooling was turned upside down.

‘It’s great to see these applicants securing a university place in record numbers, seeking more education and investing in their futures.

‘I am equally delighted to see how universities across the country have responded to their ambition.

Students receive their A-level results at Ark Academy in London this morning

‘For any student who didn’t quite get the grades they were hoping for, or even those still yet to apply, there are plenty of options in clearing with around 27,000 available courses.

‘Ucas experts are also available on the phones, on social media and on the Ucas website, to help all those deciding on the next step that’s right for them.’

The abundance of sought-after courses in Clearing means those who get rejected are likely to find a good alternative.

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said some universities are ‘really keen’ to recruit ‘as many students as they can’.

‘We have seen some evidence of universities dropping grades in order to fill places,’ she added. It’s a bit of a buyer’s market this admissions round. It’s been a very competitive admissions cycle from the institutional perspective.

‘We know that some universities are offering places to students with lower grades than they might have done in the past.’

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), said: ‘This summer is shaping up to be a buyer’s market for school leavers aiming for university.

‘Demand is flat, so universities are very keen to recruit – or else they’ll have to close courses or even whole departments, something they are very keen to avoid.

Students receive their A-level results at Sullivan Upper School in Holywood, Belfast, today

‘People who do worse than they expected in their exams are well-placed to find a new place through Clearing – including at traditional and prestigious universities.

‘There are places available whether you missed a grade or two or are having to reassess all your options.’

And Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: ‘Some universities are now in survival mode — offering incentives, ramping up marketing, and relaxing offers to fill places.’

Courses on offer include Architecture at Sheffield; Mechanical Engineering at Durham; Biochemistry at King’s College London; Economics at Manchester and Politics at Birmingham.

Some institutions are prepared to lower their normal entry requirements by up to four grades – especially for those who faced challenges during their studies.

Anyone picking up better than expected grades can also ‘trade up’ in Clearing to a more prestigious course.

It means universities with lower entry requirements may struggle to fill courses if they lose too many students to their more high-ranking rivals.

David Howells, head of undergraduate admissions of top-ranking Bath University, said: ‘Almost all universities now have at least some Clearing vacancies, and we expect that will be the case at Bath and many other popular universities this year.

‘That could be a great opportunity if you haven’t quite got what you wanted, or have been pleasantly surprised on the day.’

The scramble to hoover up students has been partly caused by an overall drop in the number of lucrative international applicants, following a change in visa rules.

This has caused a financial crisis, with a recent report by the Office for Students showing 43 per cent of universities face a deficit in 2024/25.

It comes as national figures showed the proportion of A-level entries awarded top grades rose again this year, remaining above pre-pandemic highs.

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results today, with many finding out if they would progress to university, an apprenticeship or work.

More than a quarter (28.3 per cent) of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year, when 27.8 per cent achieved the top grades.

This was higher than in 2019, the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic, when 25.4 per cent of entries were awarded A or A* grades.

It is the highest proportion of entries scoring top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22, according to the figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Boys have outperformed girls in terms of top grades for the first time in seven years.

The proportion of UK entries awarded the top A* grade this year has also risen, by 0.1 percentage points to 9.4 per cent, compared to 9.3 per cent in 2024, and it is higher than when it stood at 7.7 per cent in 2019.

The overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has also risen to 97.5 per cent this year, which is up on last year (97.2 per cent) and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (97.6 per cent).

Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, England’s exams regulator, said the standard of work required to achieve grades has ‘held constant’ since 2023.

He added that any changes were because a ‘smaller, smarter cohort’ of students had sat their A-level exams this year compared to previous years.