If your A-Level grades are drastically worse (or drastically better?) than you hoped for, then don’t panic just yet! All is not lost. Most UK unis have places available through clearing. Some UK unis are even offering students bonus incentives to pick them through clearing. Several Russell Group unis still have spots on offer to students who apply for clearing. Phew. Here are all the Russell Group unis that have places available through clearing in 2025 (plus a brief guide to the sorts of subjects you can pick).
The Russell Group unis that aren’t advertising clearing places ahead of Results Day are the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of Oxford and University College London (UCL). Sorry. But every other Russell Group unis seems to be offering something.
Remember, you can add your clearing choice to your portal on UCAS from 1pm on 14th August.
Now, this is a guide to the courses that the Complete University Guide says are on offer through clearing ahead of Results Day. Different subjects might become available on Results Day, or all the spots on competitive courses might get snapped up quickly. If you’re heart’s set on a particular course, keep checking the clearing page of that uni’s website.
So, here are all the Russell Group unis offering students places through clearing in 2025:
University of Birmingham
You can sign up to 73 courses through clearing, across a huge range of fields, including accounting, biological sciences, business, chemistry, engineering, English literature, geography, history, languages, politics and sport. In particular, Birmingham is running lots of courses in which you study law alongside something else.
University of Bristol
Bristol is offering spots on 64 courses through clearing. You can study some quite niche courses at Bristol, including childhood studies, palaeontology and evolution, and veterinary nursing and companion animal behaviour.
Cardiff University
This uni has a whopping 208 courses available through clearing. Cardiff has lots of opportunities to do a professional placement year as part of your degree, particularly if you’re interested in business, computer science, engineering or natural sciences. There are plenty of humanities courses on offer too, ranging from Welsh to a BSc in “conservation of of objects in museums and archaeology” (which is a mouthful but sounds awesome).
Durham University
You still have a chance to live out your boarding school fantasies by going to a uni with castle-like colleges. Durham is the highest-ranked uni in 2025’s Complete University Guide that has places in clearing. The uni has 85 courses available through clearing in 2025. Durham isn’t advertising clearing places for medicine, law, or physics. But they appear to have courses related to just about everything else.
University of Edinburgh
You too could soon be flouncing around one of the UK’s most stunning cities
Edi has 317 courses available through clearing this year. It would be way quicker to list the subjects that aren’t on offer. Edinburgh offers loads of joint honours courses, particularly across humanities departments. This feels like a great option for those of you who are incapable of making decisions x
University of Exeter
If you feel an urge to join the horse girls at Exetaaaah, then Exeter has 110 courses on offer. There seem to be lots of options for people interested in business, environmental science, history and marine biology. You can’t sign up for a pure law degree or for medicine, though.
University of Glasgow
Um, Glasgow will still take students for 634 courses. Surely that’s some kind of record? It’s safe to assume that if you want to study something, they’ve probably got something suitable.
King’s College London
Places on 95 KCL courses are still up for grabs. In particular, there are plenty of choices if you’re into artificial intelligence, mathematics and physics. Medicine and law aren’t on offer, though.
University of Leeds
Presumably not everyone at the University of Leeds is blonde?
Leeds has 238 courses available. A very large proportion of them seem to be different varieties of engineering. The uni also offers a wide range of humanities courses still, including fine art, fashion design, and lots of languages.
University of Liverpool
Liverpool is offering 211 courses in lots of fields – particularly in biological sciences, computer science, and law. You can sign up for degrees in egyptology and game design.
University of Manchester
Manchester has 362 courses on offer, including pretty much every subject from A to Z. Or, from accounting to zoology with industrial/professional experience (four years).
Newcastle University
138 courses are available through clearing – including some more unusual ones that are harder to come by through clearing. Newcastle might be the place for you if you’re interested in agriculture, dental therapy or folk music.
University of Nottingham
Real life Notts girlies
Notts offers 226 subjects through clearing, including a gazillion types of engineering. Law, medicine and veterinary medicine aren’t available, though.
Queen Mary University of London
This uni has spots on 99 courses available. Most of the places seem to be for STEM subjects. But there are some humanities courses on offer, including film and various modern languages. No law, though.
Queen’s University Belfast
The one Russell Group uni in Northern Ireland has places on 207 courses up for grabs. Queen’s has a dazzling array of options if you like chemistry, English, history or music. Five different law courses are available.
University of Sheffield
Sheffield offers 189 courses through clearing, including plenty of choice for wannabe engineers, and no fewer than 12 English literature courses. You can still sign up for their journalism course, and *gasp* law.
University of Southampton
If you dream of studying acoustical engineering, you’re in luck! Soto still offers eight different degrees in it. The 338 available courses also feature plenty of options for archaeology, business management, nursing and oceanography.
University of Warwick
Warwick came within the top ten in the Complete University Guide this year, fyi. Warwick’s 177 courses in clearing are pretty STEM-orientated. But there are humanities courses in Classics, modern languages and theatre sprinkled into the mix.
University of York
York offers 240 courses through clearing. 14 of those are various computer science options. York also has a wide selection of combined humanities and language degrees.
For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.
