University of Warwick to honour all offers made to applicants for 2020 entry following government U-turn

The University of Warwick has announced it will honour all offers made to applicants for 2020 entry, based on the revised A-level results of offer holders.

The University announced on 20 August that there will be no change for those applicants who already have a place confirmed, or applicants who applied for a space through clearing and have a confirmed place.

The change will affect students who did not meet their conditional offers on A-level results day but have since been given their predicted grades following the government U-turn on 17 August.

In a statement released by the University, it said: “We will honour all offers that were made to applicants and we wish to provide a 2020 start date for all those who applied on that basis. We are also committed to providing our students with the best possible teaching and learning experience.

“We are wary of placing additional pressure on space and resources at a time when social distancing measures are providing institutions with unprecedented challenges. Exceptionally, if numbers become unsustainably high and we are unable to offer you a place to start in Autumn 2020, we will offer you a place on your course starting in 2021.”

They also said that the admissions team are reviewing both revised A-level and IB results using the information sent to them by UCAS.

This year 140 undergraduate courses at the University of Warwick had spaces advertised through clearing in the 2020/2021 admissions cycle, 60.9% of the total courses offered.

Exceptionally, if numbers become unsustainably high and we are unable to offer you a place to start in Autumn 2020, we will offer you a place on your course starting in 2021.

– University of Warwick 

This was less than the number of spaces advertised in clearing last year.

In light of the U-turn, the UK government have also lifted the cap on the number of students that universities can accept for each course. This is because grade inflation means many institutions will have to accept more students than planned.

Other universities are taking similar action to the University of Warwick, such as Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Oxford.

However, some universities are experiencing an unexpected surge in numbers leading to issues with capacity.

For example, Durham University are offering financial incentives to persuade applicants to defer their studies until the next academic year.

“We welcome the announcement by the government (4pm 17 August 2020) to award A-level results to students in England based on teacher assessment,” said the University of Warwick.

“As we’ve already said, all the decisions we’ve made have been, and will continue to be, in the best interest of our applicants.”