Record number of 18-year-olds accepted onto UK degree courses as students across country find out A-level results
Some 262,820 18-year-olds in the UK have been accepted, up 3% from 255,130 last year.
The number of UK school leavers accepted on to degree courses has hit a record high, Ucas figures show.
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Some 262,820 18-year-olds in the UK have been accepted, up 3% from 255,130 last year.
Ucas said it is the highest number of placed students on results day on record, driven by a rising number of 18-year-olds in the population.
Overall, 446,690 applicants of all ages and domiciles have been accepted, also a record high.
For international students, 53,740 applicants have been accepted on to undergraduate courses – up by 2% on the 52,640 who were successful last year.
Accepted applicants from China rose to 13,870 from 12,380 last year.
The head of Universities UK, which represents more than 140 institutions, is hopeful that admissions will be more predictable than last summer after “stabilisation” in the sector.
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"There’s been a period in which universities had to adjust to some quite significant decreases in international student demand, for example, and that caused quite a lot of turbulence in the admissions landscape,” Vivienne Stern told PA.
“There’s still a bit of that around but I’m optimistic that we’re beginning to see things settle down a bit.”
Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, said: “Today’s school leavers were just starting secondary school when the pandemic interrupted their education.
“Given the significant disruption they faced at such a formative stage of their learning, it is wonderful to see so many young people getting a place at university or college.“I’m delighted to see them backing themselves and choosing to invest in their education.”
She encouraged those who missed the grades they were hoping for, or any students reconsidering plans or applying for the first time, to explore the 26,000 courses available through clearing.
It comes as hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are finding out their exam results today.
Last year, more than one in four (28.3%) of UK A-level entries were awarded an A or A* grade – up from 27.8% in 2024.
It was the highest proportion of entries scoring top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22.
In 2019, the last year summer exams were taken before the pandemic, 25.4% of entries were awarded A or A* grades.
The Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in top A-level and GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.