University staff there to help advice prospective students
It was a busy first day for those people helping A-Level recipients to look at their next steps towards university.
The Springfield Campus of Wolverhampton University was a hive of activity as more than 120 members of staff and students manned the phones and computers to take calls about Clearing.
Clearing, which started on July 5, is how universities and colleges fill any places they still have on their courses and runs until October 17 for students who either applied after June 30, didn't get any offers, didn't meet the conditions of their offers or declined their firm place.
The call centre opened from 8am on Thursday to take calls from students who had got their A-Level results and were looking to find the courses they wanted at Wolverhampton University, as well as ask for advice about alternative courses and what to do if they hadn't got the grades they wanted.
The centre itself, based on the second floor of the new Springfield Campus, was split into different areas, based on subject areas, and had senior members of staff present throughout to handle queries from those helping the students.
Among those helping students out was Kyla-Shanice Barnes-Yates, who went through clearing herself in 2022 and gained a place on the joint honours sociology and history course.
The 18-year-old from Tipton was working as a student ambassador on the clearing hotline and described the process for what would happen when someone rang in.
She said: "When our applicants call in and want a place at university, we have a little chat with them and we try to help find them a place on the course they want.
"It's been very busy today and and I've been working on the clearing hotline since the start and with today being our A-Level results day, we've been working very hard answering the phones.
"We've managed to get a lot of people on to the courses that they want to get on, so it's been a very positive day, and we know that it can be a bit daunting to call up a university and some people haven't been able to get the course they wanted, but we've been able to hopefully get them a better route.
"I must say that when I answer the phone and talk to people going through this, it does remind me of how I felt when I did this, so it is a surreal moment to see these people doing the same thing, but clearing was the best thing I ever did and got me into university on the course I wanted."
The staff members, which were a mixture of academic staff, volunteers and students, had all undergone training and briefing sessions to help prepare them for the days.
Director of UK student recruitment Jack Clare said A-Level day had been very positive with lots of calls taken and students supported and spoke about what the general theme had been.
He said: "The general theme so far has been a lot of students are ringing to get on our most competitive courses, so we have had a lot of interest in pharmacy, nursing and midwifery, so a lot of conversations have been about how they get onto the courses.
"It's been really busy as A-Level results day always is, but there's a positive vibe here in terms of staff, our current students supporting the operation, but also among the students ringing in and feeling reassured straight away.
"The best thing to do is to look at what course you might be interested in, then feel free to call in and have a chat about it because everyone is here to try and support and advice students."
To find out more about clearing at Wolverhampton University, go to wlv.ac.uk/clearing/
