Every year, thousands of students across the UK go through the process of Clearing – navigating last-minute decision-making, conflicting advice and a high-pressure environment. For young people from backgrounds underrepresented in higher education, this process can be even more complex. In London, where financial pressures, family responsibilities, and borough-specific educational inequalities intersect, the stakes are particularly high.
The function of clearing has changed over the years. Once viewed as a last-resort safety net, now, increasingly, students use it as a crucial second window of opportunity. All students must be equally empowered to utilise that choice. But many students from underrepresented backgrounds are still disproportionately impacted by information gaps, risk aversion and systemic undermatch – enrolling at institutions that do not fit their academic potential due to a lack of timely guidance or self-belief. In London, these concerns are compounded by a unique set of challenges, including high living costs, variable access to advice, hyper-local identities and competition for local places.
Higher education providers in London told AccessHE, London Higher’s widening participation initiative, that they would like to develop their capacity to support students from underrepresented backgrounds during clearing. In response, AccessHE has created a practitioner’s guide to supporting London’s under-served students through the process. It is particularly designed for recruitment and admissions staff who may not have specialised expertise in widening participation, but whose choices will directly shape the experiences and outcomes of under-served students during clearing.
Considering the opening of clearing on 5 July, this new guide offers actionable steps and practical guidance for practitioners supporting students through a fast-moving and emotional process. For students to make confident and informed decisions, recruitment and outreach teams need to be aligned and consideration for widening participation needs to be embedded across the clearing process, rather than treated as a separate strand. That means providing transparent and timely guidance, creating reliable and inclusive touchpoints and ensuring under-served students are supported to choose a course and institution based on fit, not fear.
