Teachers say sixth formers face a frantic battle for university places – despite chalking up record A-level results.
Official figures showed the pass rate was higher than ever at nearly 98 per cent - with 27 per cent of exams scoring an A* or A grade..
But record numbers of sixth formers are set to miss out in the race to start university in September, ahead of course fees trebling next year.
Local schools and colleges, who received students’ grades yesterday, told the M.E.N their results have continued to improve.
The MEN is publishing results from schools across the region - see if your results are online here
University places website crashes on A Level results day
For a live Q&A with UCAS advisors, click on the grey box below. The webchat starts at 6pm.
Teachers at Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury, where 170 students were receiving results, 80per cent of exams scored A*-C, up from 77pc.
But headteacher Andy Shakos said sixth formers were still nervous about securing a university place.
He said: “Being a grade out now is the difference between getting on a university course or not.
“Generally students have achieved well. But last year the supply of university places didn’t meet the demand and his year will be even tougher.
“But we have told our students how competitive it is going to be and the situation has added to the results improving, because they know they have to do better. "
Crompton House High School in Oldham said half of all its students’ exams scored B or higher – an improvement on last year.
Headteacher Elsie Tough said: “These are terrific results. I am very proud of the students.”
At high-achieving Altrincham Grammar School for Girls in Trafford, nearly 70 per cent of exams scored an A* or A grade.
Headteacher Dana Ross-Wawrzynski: " We are pleased that our students successfully combine academic study with a wide variety of extra-curricular activities and service to the school and the community. Once again students have done us proud. "
And Manchester College said A-level candidates at its Sheena Simon campus scored one of the biggest hauls of A and A* grades in the college’s history.
Students who fail to get the necessary grades can request one of the remaining university places through the system known as clearing.
But a record number applicants – nearly 675,000 - have applied to universities in a bid to avoid next year’s fee hike. It has meant far fewer unallocated places are available to students who don’t get the grades.
The applications have been boosted by school leaver who failed to gain a place last year.
Last night, local universities said only a small handful of courses remained up for grabs.
Manchester Metropolitan University said its unallocated courses were ‘very much down on last year’, when 1,000 places were available during clearing.
Bolton University said it had only 200 places remaining.
The surge on places was so strong that the Ucas Track website, where teenagers track university offers, was taken down for a period when demand rose four-fold compared with last year.
Ucas said full services would "resume shortly".
And Sally Hunt, head from the University and Colleges Union, claimed this year would be the most "frantic" clearing process in living memory.
She said: “Young people getting their A-level results have been encouraged to aim higher and apply to university. They have done just that and are now having the door slammed shut in their faces.”
But universities minister David Willetts claimed there were still "tens of thousands of clearing places" available.
He said: "We believe people are going to have as a good a chance this year of getting into university.”
For the latest updates on how your local school and college has fared – along with live advice from UCAS advisers – visit manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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Back in the 70s we never jumped for joy when we got our A level results even though some people used to fail them in those days, passing them was a genuine cause of relief and university places were like hen's teeth compared to today.
Come to think of it, I never even went to school to get my results. As a modern, techno savvy teenager of the time I simply telephoned the school and received them that way.
The Headine should read 'The race is on for Students to put themselves into a lifetime of debt' Thanks to Cameron and Clegg
Too easy! There'll be uni courses next on 'How to boil an egg' .
Employers say they can't get young people nowadays because they can't spell, add up or anything else!
I think it's fantastic that every year for the last 15 years pupils are getting more intelligent!
If I wasn't so convinced that it was genuinely happening I'd think that it was implausible and that exams must be getting easier but fortunately I no cynic!
It's the age-old story, some work harder than others, I know how very hard my daughter worked for hers. Granted, I feel there are far too many young people go to Uni these days, but that's because they're coached to go, from the minute they start secondary school, what else is for them to do? A lot will drop out during the first year, but at least they've worked hard enough to get there in the first place. Well done to every one of them and my heartfelt condolences to those of you who don't get the place at Uni of your choice.
How are record percentages passing? Back in the 80/90's they used to assign grades on a bell curve so only the top 10% or so ever got A's. When did they change this? I understand why, to make the numbers look better. Most of the stuff they used to do in school they moved to the university level. If I didn't know better i'd say it was so they'd have to spent longer at university and thus pay more tuition. I was a graduate student in England and I saw what was coming from the schools, they had to extend some degrees to 4 years because the students just didn't know the basic stuff.
We have artificially created demand by assuming everyone can/should pursue higher education regardless of ability or aptitude. We are now suffereing the consequences.
To highlight demand for a product or service without considering the cost of its provision is the economics of the madhouse. NHS case in point but equally valid here.
Every year the results improve yet, every year top business leaders complain that job candidates (graduates) have poor numeracy and literacy. Why is that?
Fourteen years ago my daughter sat her A levels,including English lang and lit! She passed OK but so could I have done! They were easier than my O levels in 1958! Her maths O level,for example,was not much more difficult than my 11 plus!
Teach the proverbial 3 Rs and everything slots easily into place! My 4 year old grandchild can read well ,writes pretty well,his conversational skills are great and is on his six times table. He can also find his way round my laptop!That is because my wife and I have play taught him since birth whilst baby minding because his mum and dad have to work. It has been easy and also a pleasure as most of the time,all we have needed is pencil, paper and a lot of patience! Hopefully,when he is 17,the A levels and degrees will mean something!
Hopefully,we can keep him away from PS3 for a couple of years! Unfortunately his dad is into that sort of mindless junk!
Why do they only ever show good looking people celebrating their exam results.
Justice for Nerds.....
Don't mingers do exams any more?
What a nauseating smug fest exam results day has become.
Presumably decent results are a path to a half decent job? I thought it was a picnic being on benefits?
Nice to see the MEN proving "the hypothesis that UK newspapers believe that only attractive girls in low cut tops do A-Levels" http://sexyalevels.tumblr.com/
Another year, another watering down of my A levels after pass rates go up again...
Jumping up and downs a bit over the top. I dont remember doing that when I received all my straight 'U's
Failure rate for A-Levels: just over 2%.
Failure rate for Driving Theory Test: almost 40%
Discuss ...
Didn't Bolton University used to be a 24 hour garage?
Not worth the paper there written on these days.