School pupils and college students up and down the country will be nervously receiving their A Level results on Thursday, August 15 - and for some the battle for clearing begins.

Although many thousands of prospective university students will be thrilled to collect exactly the grades they were looking for to get into their uni of choice, many others could find themselves facing the prospect of missing out on university altogether if their A Level grades weren’t quite what they were expecting.

Clearing is what many students turn to for their second chance - but UCAS has warned that there’s a deadline and you need to act fast.

What time does clearing open on A Level results day?

UCAS runs clearing through the UCAS Hub, which is available from 8am on Thursday, August 15, A Level results day.

But you will need to register and make an application if you haven’t already.

Your UCAS Hub will update at 08:00am on Results Day. You will also have your offers from your university in your Hub. If you receive your results before results day, they will automatically appear in your UCAS Hub, UCAS says.

But be warned, clearing is first come first served, so Clearing offers are open only as long as places are available. So to give yourself the best chance, you will want to apply as soon as possible.

What is clearing and can I get into university with lower A Level grades? 

Clearing works by universities looking to fill leftover gaps in their courses with students who perhaps hadn’t chosen them originally. This may be because you need to find a course with lower grade requirements because your exams didn’t go as planned.

It can also because students may have changed their minds about going to university - perhaps your grades were better than you expected and you made a last minute decision to find a course.

UCAS says: “UCAS says: “In simple terms, it’s how universities fill empty spots on their courses. Most of the time, this is through finding students who have decided to go to uni after the application deadline, or students who've not got the results they needed to get into their first choice course and are looking for alternative courses or universities.”

UCAS is also urging students not to feel discouraged about having to go through clearing. It added: “Second chance doesn’t mean second rate. Nobody is going to look at you differently because your uni life started in Clearing. You can apply for unis that may have rejected you before. Your dream uni doesn’t have to be out of reach. This is your chance to try again.

“Or you could take a gap year or think about an apprenticeship. You could also think about a Higher Technical Qualification, level 4/5 qualifications designed with employers.”