A-level results day 2024: How to conquer Clearing if you don't get the grades you need for your university place

Schools across the country will re-open their doors tomorrow morning, as Year 13s collect their A-level results. Clearing might not be the curveball the student in your life wanted, but the system designed to allocate courses to those who haven't managed the grades they hoped for is a lifeline on Results day Most students secure a 'conditional' offer of a place that's dependent on A-level grades, although plenty of courses are also available on an 'unconditional' basis, meaning students don't need to achieve predicted grades. UNIVERSITY HALLS VS PRIVATE LANDLORDS The vast majority of first year students in the UK go into catered or self-catering university accommodation, widely known as ‘halls’, while returning undergraduates are more likely to seek out a private student house. PACKING FOR UNIVERSITY: TOP TIPS Take home comforts: family photos or a favourite blanket can personalise a room Consider suitcase size, you’ll have to store it in your room Go light on groceries or risk annoying new flatmates - one fridge shelf each is the norm Pack for the weather: summer will quickly disappear and you’ll need warm clothes Take several locks: most halls have lockable space in kitchens and bedrooms Alan Riddell is Deputy Director of Residential Services at the University of St Andrews, famously attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales, where there are 4,250 rooms spread across ten halls. In 2023, he told MailOnline that catered halls remain the pick for most mums and dads, he says, often because their own memory of a Pot Noodle student diet still looms large: ‘Parents love the reassurance of three square meals a day - and uni kitchens are increasingly well-versed in dealing with more complex dietary requirements.’ Confident cooks preferring not to be tied to set mealtimes might prefer self-catering university digs.