Clearing hotline handles thousands of calls

22/08/05

Clearing hotline handles thousands of calls

Thousands of calls have poured in to Kingston University’s Clearing headquarters since A-level results were released on Thursday. In its first three and a half days Kingston's Clearing hotline operators had taken more than 9,000 calls from anxious A-level students competing for the few remaining places on degree courses. The hotline team expects to handle up to 300 calls every hour throughout the next few days.

The University’s UK marketing manager Anthony Allen said that students had clearly taken heed of advice to be quick off the mark, as competition for places this year was fiercer than ever before. “We believe that many students have been motivated by the desire to avoid top-up fees and want to be sure of getting a place this year. Places on popular courses are being snapped up quickly so the message is still don’t delay in calling the hotline,” he said.

One student helping out at hotline headquarters is Sukhi Tatla, who knows only too well how anxious callers are feeling. The 20 year old from High Wycombe, who is studying applied economics and geography, called Kingston’s Clearing hotline two years ago desperate to snap up one of the final few course places.

Now a hotline adviser herself, Sukhi is busy helping the hundreds of students who have been picking up the phone for advice. “Some students have been feeling nervous about Clearing when they called and I've really been trying to put them at their ease,” she said. “I always remember how my own adviser was helpful and easy to talk to. Everyone calling has their own concerns and everyone on the hotline team is working hard to find the perfect solutions for them.”