Since A Level results day, last month, the Council For Independent Further Education (CIFE) have reported a 123% increase in the amount of traffic to their website, compared to the same time last year. CIFE have also reported a 20% upsurge in telephone calls to their office this year.

The staggering increase in demand for A Level resits is also reflected in direct enquiries to colleges themselves. David Lowe, Head of DLD College London and Abbey College London, said "Everyone seems aware of the vastly increased competition for worthwhile degree courses and, as well as students needing to retake A2 subjects, we are seeing many more worried AS students who have decided to start their A-level courses afresh." This thought was echoed around the capital as more and more colleges found they were getting far more  interest from disappointed AS students who were rethinking their A Level strategy and registering for a greater number of One Year Intensive A Level courses. Some colleges reported they had already interviewed upwards of 25% more students than this time last year.

Another worrying trend this year is that students are enrolling on resit courses far quicker than ever before. Consensus says this is due to the widely publicised shortage of suitable courses available in Clearing this year.  Steve Boyes, Chairman of CIFE says "This year Clearing has given a lot of good students no appropriate choices, so they have turned to the resit option much more speedily.  Many believe there will be more slackness in the system next year and with improved grades they can take advantage in 2012.  Also, people are beginning to realise that the impact of raised HE tuition fees may not be as severe as they had first thought." Student opinion seems to be that by signing up for resits early; they are giving themselves an edge when it comes to applying for the most competitive UCAS courses this autumn.

What are your thoughts and opinions now the dust has settled after results day? Did you get the grades you needed to go to study the course you wanted at the University of your choice? Let us know your thoughts…