3 days ago
A-level results day live: Hundreds of thousands wait for their grades across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Record number expected to secure first choice university
A record number of 18-year-olds are likely to be successful in securing their first choice of university today, according to the head of UCAS.
Jo Saxton, chief executive of the university admissions service, told the PA news agency it was a "good year to be a UK-domiciled 18-year-old" who wants to go to university.
She has suggested that British universities are keen to recruit UK school and college leavers because there is more "uncertainty" around the international market, and which overseas students are going to turn up.
More than 22,500 courses with vacancies for undergraduate students living in England were available on the UCAS clearing site as of Wednesday afternoon, a PA analysis of 129 of the UK's largest higher education providers showed.
Eighteen of the 24 elite Russell Group universities had nearly 3,500 courses with vacancies for English residents on clearing the day before results day.
