Inside a university's clearing 'call centre' on results day

It's common for teenagers calling York St John University's clearing service to be nervous.

Many will have missed the grades needed for their first-choice university offer, and are ringing round on results day to find an alternative.

The hotline is staffed by students, who try and match callers to a new course that will accept them.

The BBC visited a training session at the call centre ahead of 13 August, when A Level students and candidates who studied a range of other qualifications find out their results.

Director of admissions Matthew Taylor says that every year, 350 people enrol at York St John through clearing.

"Keep calm; there will be opportunities out there for you, so definitely don't despair," he advises.

The call handlers are trained to advise prospective students - many of them only 18 years old - on the options available to them before they accept the offer of a place.

Granted university status 20 years ago, York St John, which was founded as a Church of England teacher training college, traditionally specialises in subjects such as nursing and education, but offers a broad range of courses, from tourism to music and sport.

Taylor adds: "I think in common with the last couple of years across the sector, across the country, there'll be a lot of courses available. Some courses will be available for a shorter period of time and some courses will be available for potentially a few weeks."

Connie Bennett and Matthew Shore are student ambassadors returning to answer clearing calls for another year.

Bennett is in her fifth year working for the service in her summer vacation.

Shore says the atmosphere is "positive" as school leavers' futures are resolved.

"It's a real hive of activity in the room, which is a really great atmosphere, especially when you're telling prospective students that they can come and study here."

The day will be a busy one, with results released by UCAS, schools and colleges from 08:00 BST.

The university's permanent admissions staff supervise the student recruits.

Taylor adds: "We like having the students because we know that people like to chat and find out what the university is like, and who better to give them an honest answer to that than our current students at the moment."

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