'Parents listen in - there's a lot of emotion'

Many staff members at the University of Bradford volunteer to be on the phones

While more than 80% of A-level students secured a spot at their first choice university following the publication of exam results on Thursday, thousands of others who did not get the necessary grades had to start going through the clearing process.

The BBC's Charles Heslett spent time at the University of Bradford, where staff were on hand to help those students needing to work out what to do next.

It is a hive of activity in room F42 on the fourth floor of the University of Bradford's Richmond Building on the outskirts of the city centre.

Just for one day, it has been converted into a clearing call centre, and scores of staff have volunteered to work on the phone lines here which opened at 08:00 BST.

In the space of a little over five hours, they have already taken more than 2,000 calls and the room is alive with telephone chatter.

Call waiting times to staff here are kept to seconds, not minutes, and they are all recorded in real time and statistics are shown on TV monitors on surrounding walls.

University of Bradford vice-chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon says there is a lot of emotion during the day from both parents and students

I am pleasantly surprised to find that the university's vice-chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon is one of those sporting a headset.

She tells me she has already spoken to "a number of people" seeking a place.

"I've made an offer for someone on a chemical engineer programme who couldn't get in on their first place, and they were absolutely delighted," she says.

"Sometimes parents are in the background listening in, so there's a lot of emotion in it."

The positive energy in the room is tangible, driven by endless teas and coffees as well as trays of cakes piled high on a table next to a stainless steel water boiler.

Ms Congdon says: "We're not going to be eating that amount of sugar for the whole of the week, that's for sure."

Call handler and outreach worker Tom Whitford says it is often the parents who are more stressed than their children

Tom Whitford, a university outreach worker, is another of the call centre operators.

He tells me it is often the parents who are more stressed than the students at a time like this.

"I had one father on the phone who sounded a little on edge, let's say. But I asked him to please put his son on. He sounded a lot calmer."

The University of Bradford had 11,665 students for the 2023-24 academic year and although applications are down from last year, demand for its speciality healthcare courses like pharmacy remains high.

As a result, the university's clearing process will continue for a few weeks yet.

In just five hours on Thursday, the University of Bradford's clearing call centre took more than 2,000 calls

And, as someone who went through all this, albeit 35 years ago when polytechnics were still a thing, I was comforted by Mr Whitford's parting words for those students still searching for a place.

He said: "Just keep calm. Make sure you do your research. There are thousands of courses out there and thousands of options.

"I know when you're 18, 19, you think, 'I have to do it now'.

"But you've got a long life ahead of you, so you don't just have to rush into things. Take your time."

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