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The number of applicants accepted on higher education courses is 2.5 per cent up on last year, the Universities and Colleges Admission Service reported this week.

About 10,000 students had their places confirmed last week, taking the total with confirmed conditional offers to more than 303,000.

A further 6,000 students found a place in clearing over the same period, taking the total number of accepted applicants to 314,800 - up 2.5 per cent on last year.

The rise came after missing key skills results were delivered to universities and colleges last week. Most outstanding offers involved key skills results taken as an equivalent for GCSE maths or English. This difficulty has now been resolved.