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Clearing and results day advice for teachers

Find Clearing and results day advice for teachers and careers advisors, including guidance on calling universities and supporting your students.

Clearing guide for teachers

CONTENTS

  1. What’s Clearing?

  2. Key dates

  3. When should students start thinking about Clearing?
  4. How to talk to students about Clearing

  5. How to support students on results day

  6. Calling universities

What’s Clearing?

Clearing is the process of matching students without a university place to universities with unfilled places. It gives students an opportunity to find their ideal course for the upcoming academic year, rather than waiting to apply in the next cycle.

Students can choose to go through Clearing if they:

  • Don’t get into their firm (CF) or insurance (CI) university choices
  • Change their mind about where they initially decided to go and wish to self-release
  • Don’t receive an offer after first applying
  • Apply late (after 30 June)
  • Get better grades than predicted and decide to try and change course

Clearing is a common and useful way to help students get into university or college.

How does Clearing work?

Clearing begins in July and closes in October. Students can only go through Clearing after they’ve received their exam results (or if they’re applying to university late before results are published).

Those who didn’t receive an offer from a university after applying or didn’t get the grades they needed for an offer (and are not accepted with near-miss grades) will be automatically released into Clearing. Students who get the grades but decide they don’t want to accept their original offers can self-release into Clearing.

Clearing vacancies will go live on our search tool from 5 July. Students can search through what’s available and get in touch with universities to secure new places. Vacancy information can also be found on university websites and UCAS Clearing.

Key dates

UCAS application timeline

When should students start thinking about Clearing?

You can introduce the possibility of Clearing as soon as students begin looking at applying to university.

Some teachers talk about Clearing when their students are preparing their UCAS applications. Others do so after the application deadline, or when universities give students offers. Some teachers mention it as early as the beginning of Year 12.

It’s up to you to decide the best time to introduce the idea of Clearing. We suggest students get to know the different processes and options early on.

How to talk to students about Clearing

Teachers should try to be encouraging about Clearing, as it can be used for success and doesn’t indicate a failure on the student’s part.

Students benefit from people who:

  • Talk with and listen to them
  • Suggest and discuss different options
  • Show them how to use online tools

Many teachers hold sessions and workshops about Clearing and results day to provide extra support.

Preparation is key – many students don’t think they’ll need to use Clearing, but it’s always a possibility. Ensure that your students understand what Clearing is and what they might have to do before and on results day. Plans can change drastically once students find out their grades – they should think about what they’ll do if things don’t go as expected.

Students can look for possible Clearing options ahead of results day. They can even contact universities to discuss any opportunities. Some universities offer pre-registration for vacancies on their website.

International Baccalaureate and Scottish Higher students receive their exam results before A Level students do. This gives them a head start into Clearing, but less time for preparation.

  1. READ MORE
  2. Clearing FAQs

How to support students on results day

Students can usually see an updated status on their UCAS Hub profile first thing on results day. But encourage them to go into school or college so that you’re there to give them Clearing support if necessary.

Recommend that they look at the Clearing course search if they don’t get the results they need. They can list alternative courses and universities that they’re interested in along with the university Clearing numbers to call.

Questions they should think about when selecting a new course:

  • What’s more important: the university or the course?
  • Which universities offer similar courses?
  • Does the university they want to go to have a different course they’re interested in?
  • Is university right for them now, or could they consider other options?

Look out for anyone who is finding it difficult. They may need a quiet space (online or in person) to talk about their options away from everyone else’s excitement.

Stay positive, but also be realistic. There’s plenty of time to find the right thing for each person, whether that’s an alternative course, resitting exams, or taking a break and reapplying next year. Students must prioritise their wellbeing, and not feel like they should accept the first offer they’re given.

We have plenty of Clearing information and advice on our website. Other places to find information include university websites and UCAS. It’s also handy to look at our university league tables, subject tables and Clearing success stories.

Calling universities

Help your students to prepare before calling a university about Clearing. You can practice phone interviews so they know what kind of questions a university might ask. This will help them gain confidence and be able to show university staff they’re enthusiastic about the course.

Make sure your students prepare thoroughly. You can use our preparing for a Clearing call page for guidance.

The questions they’ll be asked on the call could be about:

  • Their grades
  • Why they want to study the course
  • Why they want to study at the university
  • Their personal statement (make sure they re-read this before calling!)
  • Any career goals

They should also spend time considering what the uni has to offer (such as location or accommodation options) and note down any questions they want to ask about the university. This will help them gather enough information and decide if it’s what they’re after.

Before making the call, students will need their:

  • UCAS ID
  • Clearing number
  • Grades, UCAS points or equivalent
  • Personal statement
  • Pen and paper for making notes

University Clearing line numbers are available via our Clearing course search. Students can search by subject or university and click ‘CALL NOW’ to reveal the number. They must make the call themselves; you can’t do it for them.

Remind students that there are plenty of options. Nothing might happen straight away, so encourage them to stay calm while chasing responses and continue searching for opportunities.

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