MOST Derbyshire schools claimed that the majority of students gained places at universities of their choice after last Thursday.

They were probably among the lucky ones because it has been estimated that as many as 100,000 young people could find themselves without places by the end of the clearing process.

At its height last Thursday, frantic youngsters were calling universities, with an estimated six students chasing every vacant place, with the likelihood that only 22,000 had been available in the first place

For the first time in its history, the University of Derby filled all but a handful of its available degree course places after the first day of clearing.

Clearing is the final chance for people to get on to a university degree course for the next academic year.

They may have applied through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) and not been accepted by their choice of university, because they failed to get the required A-level grades, or have declined all offers and chosen to go into the clearing process.

The university also had fewer places in clearing, thanks to a high take-up on offers it made to people back in May.

Sensing that far more people had applied to university this year than ever before, the Government made 10,000 extra places available.

These included an extra 143 at the University of Derby in vocational subjects.

About double the number of telephone calls were received by the university's call centre this year, compared with 2008 – more than 600 calls in less than six hours.

Olivia Ramsbottom, university admissions manager, said: "In the six years I have been here, I have never seen degree course places go this quickly."

Despite the university being busy, Derby Connexions centre did not report much additional traffic on its phone lines.

A Connexions spokesman said: "It was quite busy on the day of the results but the numbers don't really suggest that the need for help this year from us has been significantly higher than in previous years, but it could be early days."

As worried students tried to decide on their next steps, a row broke out between exam chiefs over the future of the exams.

The heads of two of the UK's biggest awarding bodies admitted it could be time to "crank up the standard" while a third argued the qualifications do not need overhauling.

The exam boards have said they are considering giving A-level students percentage marks alongside their grades in a bid to identify the brightest candidates.

Jerry Jarvis, head of the Edexcel exam board, said many of the UK's leading universities are having difficulty in choosing between applicants in certain subjects.

He said: "I think it's a discussion that needs to be had.

"There's no question about it, it's a discussion about the value of the A-level. It's still a hugely trusted qualification.

"More and more students are making the grade. It's a consequence of success rather than a failure of the system itself."

A-levels are changing from September, with the introduction of more analytical final exam questions and an A* grade, given only to students who achieved a score above 90%.

Dr Mike Cresswell, director general of the AQA exam board, said: "The introduction of the A* grade next year will address the needs of a few universities and faculties to identify the very best candidates within grade A."

But while the arguments rage – always a popular national pastime when many youngsters want to celebrate – what happens to the young people who have no university place to which to go?

As the recession has deepened, fewer casual and permanent jobs have been available for people either wanting to take time out to earn money, or being forced to.

There is always the alternative of going back into school or college to retake subjects and improve grades.

But if they then reapply to university, they will be joining even greater numbers next year looking places.

The Government has opened up higher education to far more people – more than 40% now go compared to about 10% 30 years ago – but this brings problems if funding is not made available to universities to recruit the extra numbers.

Probably no-one was banking on the current economic situation cropping up to thwart grandiose plans of mass higher education.

But business leaders are still worried that young people are ill-equipped to work in industry and commerce after leaving school, no matter what they decide to do.

Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Too much attention is focused on the annual ritual of exam results, and too little on whether our young people are getting the skills they need to succeed.

"It's a tough economic climate and the number of young people not in education, employment or training is heading towards the one million mark.

"It's more important than ever that Britain's education and training systems work for learners and for businesses alike.

"Companies up and down the country tell us that too many young people are still leaving school, college or university without the tools needed to get into work.

"So rather than focus on A-level pass rates, councils, colleges and local businesses need to form a closer partnership – ensuring that employers can recruit locally and that young people get the training they need to get ahead."

Career coach Zena Everett, managing director of company Second Careers, said: "Getting a degree is a good thing, but recently we've seen graduates coming to career coaches because they need to make conscious decisions about what they want their career to look like.

"If you're considering a degree course through clearing, you mustn't put yourself in a situation where you're just doing something for the sake of it.

"Make sure you get some sound advice because it's your future that is at stake."