Students urged to ‘take stock' before accepting degree places on lower grades
University leaders have been warning of financial pressures due to uncertainty about the recruitment of overseas students as well as years of frozen tuition fees by domestic students.
Speaking ahead of A-level results day on Thursday, Ms Stern told the PA news agency: 'We have seen some evidence of universities dropping grades in order to fill places.'
She said: '(Students) should take stock of whether what they're being offered is right for them.'
It has been suggested that some universities are offering incentives and relaxing offers to fill places.
Ms Stern told PA: 'It's a bit of a buyer's market this admissions round.'
She said: '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.
'From a student point of view that might be really good news.
'Although I would just say think very carefully about what's right for you.'
On the day before A-level results day, a PA sample of 129 of the UK's largest higher education providers showed there were 22,518 courses with vacancies for undergraduate students living in England on the Ucas clearing site – which matches applicants to university places yet to be filled.
A similar analysis last year – carried out by PA on the day before A-level results day and looking at the same range of institutions – showed there were 22,774 courses with vacancies on the clearing site.
Eighteen of the 24 Russell Group universities, which represent some of the most selective UK institutions, had vacancies on courses for English residents – a total of 3,492 courses between them.
A similar analysis last year, the day before A-level results day, showed 17 of the 24 Russell Group universities had vacancies on courses for English residents – a total of 3,500 courses between them.
Clearing is available to students who do not meet the conditions of their offer on A-level results day, as well as those who did not receive any offers.
Students who have changed their mind about what or where they wish to study, and those who have applied outside the normal application window, can also use clearing.
Ms Stern advised students waiting for their grades to spend some time familiarising themselves with the Ucas system and to look at the clearing site.
She said: 'There are plenty of options available and whatever's happened it's almost certainly not a disaster and it won't be the end of everything.
'So take a big deep breath and don't panic.'
Last week, Jo Saxton, head of Ucas, suggested a record number of 18-year-olds are expected to wake up on A-level results day to the news that they have been successful in securing their first-choice university.
Ucas figures released last month revealed that the number of offers made to prospective undergraduate students from universities and colleges has reached a record high this year.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, told PA: 'Some universities are now in survival mode — offering incentives, ramping up marketing, and relaxing offers to fill places.
'We must make every effort to ensure that students from all backgrounds are also well prepared and supported to succeed in their degrees.'
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, said: 'It is a good year for applicants in the sense that demand is pretty flat so universities are having to fight over themselves to win new students.
'Universities do not want to have to close courses and make staff redundant but they will need to if they cannot fill their places.'
Mike Nicholson, director of recruitment, admissions and participation at the University of Cambridge, said there had been a drift for students applying more to the well-known and 'more reputable universities' in recent years.
The expert said that he was expecting more students to be looking in clearing for opportunities to do internships or placements as part of their degree.
Mr Nicholson told PA: 'I think what we're probably seeing is students looking carefully at what the degree outcomes might be.
'We've seen a shift towards engineering degrees, mathematics degrees, associated degrees in medicine.
'They're all up significantly this year in applications.'
Joanna Burton, head of policy (higher education) at the Russell Group, said: 'There is always some flexibility in offer-making decisions, and students may find they are accepted with grades slightly different to the advertised offer.
'However, our universities only admit students who show evidence they can meet the rigour of the course.'
She said: 'While there appears to be some flattening out of the application rate among 18-year-olds, our universities are still seeing strong demand for courses that offer high-quality teaching and promising career prospects – and they're working hard to meet this demand.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
‘London diners are so rude they cost my restaurant £1,000 a week'
Despite the English stereotype that Brits have impeccable manners, London restaurant owners have said their customers are extremely rude – and it's costing them £1,000 a week. Last minute cancellations, constant complaints and pure anger after seeing other diners being served their meal slightly earlier are all fueling the theory customers simply 'love to feel like a victim'. Things have now reached a boiling point for Ferhat Dirik, owner of upscale Mangal 2 Restaurant in Dalston. Last week he posted on social media describing diners as a bunch of 'insufferable, entitled and unforgiving p****s'. He wrote: 'At which point did it become socially acceptable for the hospitality industry to become the sponge which soaks all of the nation's vomit; its punching bag?' His post has since resonated with anyone who has had to work in the hospitality industry, and compounded what we all know to be true – manners are on the decline. He told Metro: 'I have had loads of other owners and employees reach out to me after my post, saying they have noticed the same thing: Manners are dire.' Mangal 2 has been a staple of London's culinary scene since 1994 when Ferhat's dad Ali Dirik opened the restaurant after moving from Istanbul. It's reputation is a proud one, and earned itself the title of 35th best restaurant in the whole of the UK, serving innovative Anatolian meals which one critic described as 'brave, compelling, and properly delicious'. But every evening the restaurant owner is left placating customers who simply 'have a lack of logical thinking'. If a table sees another party receive their main course before them? Expect all hell to break loose. Table not ready the very moment they arrive? Forget the idea of an easy-going shift. Ferhat said: 'There is a mindset of wanting to hate wherever they eat. Obviously as a service worker you want to rectify it, but there is such a combative attitude. 'A table that gets served their main before they do, would not have had starters or a simpler dish to prepare. 'And if they arrive and their table isn't ready? Often the customers themselves are early, and we spend the rest of the shift trying to make up for the 'bad' start.' The lack of respect some customers have is even costing his business £1,000 a week, with large parties wanting to cancel last-minute with no apologies. He said: 'We have booking for eight people and then the group suddenly cancels, so we are left scrambling to fill that spot. 'But when you tell them they have to pay a cancellation fee, they start arguing with you. 'Most people say a family member is ill – but it just feels like a trick because you can't ask for proof and then feel evil for insisting they pay the fee.' The dad-of-two has worked in the hospitality industry for 25 years, working in his restaurant as a child while his dad was owner. But he's said the treatment of his staff by customers is now worse than ever before. 'I first started really noticing it around 18 months ago. People now have less disposable income, and now there seems like there is less empathy,' he said. More Trending Customers, despite being wined and dined by some of east London's finest cuisine, will also give bad reviews due to problems way beyond the restaurant's control. Ferhat said: 'We get beggars in sometimes, because there is a lot of addiction and mental health issues in the area. 'They go from table to table asking customers for money, and we ask them to leave straight away. 'But we will still get bad reviews because of it when there is nothing more we can do, it is just a lack of logical thinking.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: How London is fighting against the rising numbers of grass and wildfires in the city MORE: Purple Lamborghinis seized in £7,000,000 supercar police raid MORE: Fare dodgers push their way through barriers in front staff
Western Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Starmer to welcome Zelensky to No 10 ahead of Trump meeting with Putin
The Prime Minister's meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky comes after he said Britain stands ready to 'increase pressure' on Russia if necessary. Meanwhile, Mr Trump threatened Russia with 'severe consequences' if a ceasefire was rejected by its leader. During a call with the US president and European allies on Wednesday, Sir Keir praised Mr Trump for his work to bring forward a 'viable' chance of an end to the war. But concerns have been raised over Mr Zelensky's exclusion from the meeting between the Mr Trump and Mr Putin, which is set to take place in Alaska on Friday. Speaking on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: 'This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important. 'As I've said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire. 'And now we do have that chance, because of the work of that the president has put in.' Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage, and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, he said. 'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' he told allies. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer co-chairs a virtual meeting with pro-Ukraine allies from Downing Street (Jack Taylor/PA) 'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.' Sir Keir and European leaders have repeatedly said discussions about Ukraine should not happen without it, amid concerns the country is being sidelined in negotiations about its own future. Asked if it was his decision to not invite Mr Zelensky to the meeting, Mr Trump said 'no just the opposite', before adding that a second meeting with the Ukrainian president could take place afterwards. 'We had a very good call, he was on the call, President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly,' he told reporters in Washington. He added: 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing.' The US president has previously suggested a truce could involve some 'swapping' of land. It is believed one of the Russian leader's demands is for Ukraine to cede parts of the Donbas region which it still controls. But Mr Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise Ukraine's territorial integrity, something that is forbidden by the country's constitution. A joint statement from the Coalition of the Willing, which is co-chaired by Sir Keir, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said 'international borders must not be changed by force'. It added: 'Sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia's war economy should be strengthened if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire in Alaska.' The Coalition of the Willing is a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in the event of truce.
The Herald Scotland
13 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland's deficit grew by £5.1bn, Government estimate shows
For 2024-25, Scotland has a net fiscal deficit of minus £26.2 billion – an increase of £5.1 billion from the previous year – with this the representing minus 11.6% of the country's GDP. The UK deficit for 2024-25 was minus 5.1% of GDP, less than half the rate of Scotland. The Scottish Government report said the 'deterioration' between this year and last was in part linked to a fall in North Sea revenue, but it added: 'The difference is primarily explained by movements in non-North Sea revenue and spending, with Scottish revenue growing more slowly and Scottish expenditure growing more quickly than the UK.' Revenue in Scotland grew by 1.5% in 2024-25 to £91.4 billion. Spending increased to £117.6 billion in 2024-25, up from £111.4 billion in 2023-24. 'As a share of GDP, public spending remained at historically high levels in 2024,' the report noted. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the figures show Scots benefit from higher public spending than the UK average – with this £2,669 more per person north of the border. He said this 'means more money for schools, hospitals and policing, if the Scottish Parliament chooses to invest in those areas' – although he also claimed 'people in Scotland will rightly expect to see better outcomes' for these higher spending levels. Mr Murray said: 'These figures underline the collective economic strength of the United Kingdom and how Scotland benefits from the redistribution of wealth inside the UK. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said voters north of the border will expect 'better outcomes' from higher levels per person of public spending (Ben Whitley/PA) 'By sharing resources with each other across the UK, Scots benefit by £2,669 more per head in public spending than the UK average. 'It also means that devolved governments have the financial heft of the wider UK behind them when taking decisions.' Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison said decisions taken by ministers at Holyrood 'are helping support sustainable public finances'. She said: 'For the fourth year in a row, devolved revenues have grown faster than devolved expenditure. 'Scotland's public finances are better than many other parts of the UK, with the third highest revenue per person in the UK, behind only London and the South East.' She also stressed the Gers statistics reflect the current constitutional arrangements, with Scotland part of the UK and 'not an independent Scotland with its own policy, decisions on defence spending and the economy'. Arguing the figures highlight the 'limit' of devolved powers, Ms Robison said while the Scottish Government is responsible for more than 60% of public expenditure north of the border, it only controls 'around 30% of revenue'. The Finance Secretary told journalists: 'As an independent Scotland we would have the powers to make different choices, different budgetary results, to build a stronger economy and enable Scotland to be a fairer, wealthier and greener country.' She pointed to Ireland, saying GDP there had grown 12.5% over the last year, with a budget surplus of 24 billion euros (£20.7 billion) in 2024. Ms Robison hailed that as an example of 'what a small independent country, one of our nearest neighbours, is able to do with the full powers of independence'. She said: 'What we want, through the powers of independence, is to be able to make our own decisions. 'If you look at Ireland and what they have been able to do with the powers they have, it's like night and day compared to the economic conditions of the UK economy or the Scottish economy. 'Independence is the direction we want to take because we believe it will unleash the potential, from day one, to be able to emulate some of the economic performance of many of our neighbours, whether it is Ireland, or some of our Scandinavian neighbours.'
