A Levels 2025: My child has ended up in Clearing - how to help them navigate the system

• Clearing helps match students without offers up with universities that still have places available
• There are thousands of courses with spots available this year
• New research shows few parents understand the process, or feel confident guiding their child through it
• There are several steps students in Clearing need to take to secure a place – and it may include a phone interview

Only one in eight parents understands how the university Clearing process works, but thousands of them may soon be helping their teens navigate it regardless.

There is now just over a week until the 2025 A Level results day, which is on Thursday, August 14 this year. Students across the country will pick up their results envelopes from their schools and colleges, finding out not only how they did in their exams, but most likely the outcome of any conditional university offers – for those planning to make tertiary studies their next step.

Unfortunately, some just won’t get the grades they need. But this doesn’t have to spell an end to their university aspirations. Each year, thousands of prospective students are matched up with courses with open spaces via the Clearing process. UCAS – the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service – says that there are more than 30,000 courses available for 2025.

As part of its Clearing guidance, the University of East Anglia recently surveyed 1,000 parents and carers of sixth-form-aged teens to discover how many felt comfortable offering support. It found that just 12% – or about one in eight – understood Clearing, while about one in five (21%) felt confident helping their children through the process. A similar number (20%) said their children felt unprepared to make decisions, with concern they would panic and make the “wrong” choice.

So how exactly can parents help with Clearing? What will their child actually need to do, and when do they have to take action? Here is what UCAS has to say, in case your child needs your support this year:

How do I enter my child into Clearing?

In most cases, you don’t actually have to. If an applicant doesn’t get the grades needed for any conditional offers they have, or if they applied after June 30, UCAS will enter them into Clearing automatically.

It will even try and match them up with available courses that match their study interests, which can be viewed by clicking the ‘My Matches’ button on your online application. But they’re not limited to those either – UCAS also has a search function (which you can find online here), and there will be thousands of courses across dozens of universities to choose from.

This means that students upset about their results can take some much-needed downtime, to talk it out with a supportive parent or friend. UCAS also recommends that they talk to an adviser at their school or college.

They’ve found a course they’re interested in – now what?

Once your teen has found a new course that catches their eye, there are a few steps they’ll need to take to lock it in. First, they will need to reach out to the university to find out if they would consider them. The contact details for each university can be found by clicking through to its profile from the UCAS hub.

It’s usually best to give them a call, and they’ll likely have a dedicated team for this. You child will need to do this themselves, but you can help by making sure they have their Clearing number (they can find this on their application), personal ID, grades, and the course code for the programme they’re interested in on hand before they ring.

If the university is happy with their grades, they will usually receive an offer via the UCAS hub relatively quickly. Although if they’re on the lower side, an academic staff member may call them back for an over-the-phone interview before deciding whether to send an offer.

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Remember to tell your child there’s no need to panic over the call. The University of East Anglia’s associate pro-vice-chancellor for recruitment and admissions, Dr Charles Seger, said they had a friendly, helpful team on the end of the phone line, “talking students and their families through the whole process”.

“We know that students and their families often make decisions together about their education – starting university is a major milestone and lifestyle change for both the child and their parents or carers, so it’s only natural that all parties are involved,” he said. “That’s why we commissioned this research, to discover exactly what parents and carers are looking for in a university and to reassure them throughout the whole process.”

Once they’ve got the university’s approval, they can officially add them to their application by clicking ‘add Clearing choice’, and filling in the course details by the date the university gave you. This counts as accepting their offer – and you and your child are then free to start your preparations in earnest.

When do courses open for Clearing – and when does it end?

The good news is that Clearing is technically already open for students not holding any other university offers, UCAS says. This also applies to students who applied late, have declined their offers, or who might have changed what they want to study. It opened for the year back on July 5.

On results day itself, students wanting to add a Clearing choice can do so in their UCAS Hub from 1pm. While it’s a good idea to get onto it quickly before courses start to fill up, there’s no big rush – and your child has plenty of time to work out their next steps. Clearing doesn’t close until October 20 this year.

Is a young person in your life getting their results this month? You can check out some of our other coverage here, including how to appeal a grade, what to expect on the day – and what to do next if university is their next step.