The organisers of the UK higher education admissions system say they have already placed a record number of students on courses for this autumn.

One day after students got their A-level results, 239,258 applications had been accepted.

Of those, 2,156 had found places through the clearing system which tries to match students with spare places.

Ucas - the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service - said a total of 81,841 were eligible for clearing.

There have been isolated reports of some students' results not being delivered to universities, which might cause their applications to be rejected.

Seek help

Ucas says it should be possible to resolve such problems if people contact its helpline on 01242 227788.

For those using clearing, the chances of finding somewhere are significantly better than in recent years.

Last year about 7,000 more people were chasing places and in 1999 there were more than 13,000 in the same position - and there are more higher education places on offer this year.

Not only that but the rules of the Ucas system have changed to include institutions offering HNDs as well as degree courses, so there are 336 universities and colleges looking for students, against 259 last year.

Tony Higgins tells students: "Don't despair and take your time"

A total of 426,385 people have applied for places so far, compared to 416,201 at this time last year.

Ucas has upgraded its web-based service which allows students to check on the progress of their applications and has details of the thousands of courses on offer, constantly updated.

Ucas advises students without places not to rush into signing up for a course but says they should ring around universities and colleges to find one that is right for them.

Its chief executive, Tony Higgins, said: "If you haven't met the conditions of your offer, don't despair.

"Remember that you will probably be there for at least three years. You must be happy with your final decision so don't be hasty."