Government moves gives Brighton universities more places (From The Argus)

Government moves gives Brighton universities more places

3:10pm Saturday 1st September 2012 in News By Kayleigh Tanner

Dozens of top students could still grab places at university in Brighton after the Government scrapped limits for those with the best grades.

Both the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton are advertising places through clearing for students with at least grades AAB at A-level.

Last year Sussex could offer no places through clearing – the annual scramble for applicants without a confirmed place at university to gain one – after the number of students choosing to defer the start of their courses slumped.

Teenagers had raced to beat the predicted rise in student fees by signing up to courses in September 2011.

But after the Government scrapped its limit on the number of students gaining at least AAB in their A-levels that institutions could recruit, both Sussex and Brighton are offering more teenagers the chance to go to university this year.

Both reported being “very busy” in clearing – although neither said they needed to take on extra applicants to fill their courses.

English, maths and science

Brighton, the country’s 14th most applied for university, still has 189 courses open in clearing for 2012 entry, including English literature and maths.

Sussex has places available to study more than 30 different subjects, including law, maths, sciences and languages.

It has so far offered 166 places to students who may have missed their offer at university and said only physical constraints – such as lecture rooms being at capacity or them running out of computers – would limit how many AAB applicants it could take in.

More than 2,650 students have now taken up undergraduate places for this year.

A spokesman said: “We continue to welcome applications via clearing for home/EU students who hold A-level grades of AAB and above.

“We will consider students for places up until the beginning of the academic year, along with other suitably qualified candidates with the appropriate entry-level grades for any remaining spaces in some subject areas.”

A University of Brighton spokesperson said: “We still have vacancies in some areas for good students who wish to study with us and we would recommend they check our website for an up-to-date list.”