Uni applications "welcomed"

Tuesday 02 June 2020

Despite the uncertainty over university admissions this coming September, applications are being welcomed from local students wanting to go on to study in the UK as Education Services work through those forms and grant applications too.

A Level and Baccalaureate exams have been cancelled but students will be awarded their grades based on their cumulative studies over the two years and submitted coursework.

Nationally, university applications are reported to have held up with UCAS now working with colleges and universities to work through offers made to students.

UCAS has said it is important students take their time to assess options and make the right decision with new dates set for accepting offers: 

• If you receive your last decision on or before 4 June 2020, your reply date is 18 June 2020 (except if you're using Extra to find a place).
• If you receive your last decision on or before 13 July 2020, your reply date is 20 July 2020 (including Extra choices).

Hundreds of students from the Bailiwick attend university in the UK each year, with some studying further afield.

Deputy Matt Fallaize, the President of the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture said although it remains an uncertain time for students, they should continue with their applications and wait and see what happens over the summer months as the global situation with the covid-19 pandemic evolves.

"The university sector, I think, is in a really difficult place, it has become increasingly reliant on international students and that source of revenue is clearly going to be affected," he warned.

Pictured: ESC President, Deputy Matt Fallaize. 

"Some universities are assuming there will be a very significant reduction in the number of students who turn up in September but we are processing applications in the normal way, assuming there will be courses run and our grants system is open and applications can be made.

"We are obviously in the hands of decisions that are made by universities in the UK and there is a lot of uncertainty among the UK universities, not least because I think they have requested all kinds of support from the UK government which has not been forthcoming, certainly not as quickly as they would have wished, and that will have a different effect on different universities.

"Some universities are in extremely good financial positions, others less so, so I think there is a lot of uncertainty in this sector, but we are inviting applicants, we are inviting grant applications and we are assuming that if universities are open and are accepting students that ours can take advantage of places in the normal way not withstanding obviously, it does depend to some extent on what the travel arrangements are in and out of Guernsey and what policy decisions are made around border control."