Archive · 13 Aug 2026
A-level grades won't guarantee medical school places as applications soar
On Thursday 13 August, students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who took their A-level exams find out their grades.
Results come out from 8am in the morning, and it is a very exciting but also stressful day.
Many students want to go to university to become doctors or dentists, but there are not enough places for everyone.
This year, 25,770 students applied for medicine, but there are only about 8,000 to 9,000 places.
That means most students will not get in, even if they get very good grades.
Getting top grades used to be enough, but now it is not.
There are also lots of students applying to be dentists, and many of them are Asian students.
In fact, for the first time, white students are no longer the majority of 18-year-old university applicants.
If students do not get their first choice, they can use something called Clearing, which opens at 1pm, to find another course.
Clearing stays open until late September, so there is still time to find a good option.
A-level results day is Thursday 13 August 2026 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with results released from 8am.
Medicine applications reached 25,770 this cycle, up 10.4% on last year, competing for roughly 8,000-9,000 funded places.
Most medicine applicants will miss out regardless of grades, with the acceptance rate sitting near one in four.
Dentistry attracts a disproportionately high share of Asian applicants, at roughly double the rate of Medicine and four times the higher education average.
For the first time, white students made up less than half of all domestic 18-year-old UCAS applicants, driven by a sharp rise in Asian applicants.
UCAS Clearing opens at 1pm on results day and runs until late September for students seeking course vacancies.
- Who
- A-level students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and UCAS applicants to medicine and dentistry courses
- What
- A-level results are released, revealing that strong grades do not guarantee medical school places because applications far outnumber capped places
- When
- Thursday 13 August 2026, with results from 8am and Clearing opening from 1pm
- Where
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Why
- Applications for Medicine rose 10.4% to 25,770 against roughly 8,000-9,000 funded places, so demand keeps climbing while places barely move
- Results release time
- 8am, Thursday 13 August 2026
- UCAS Hub update
- 8am, same day
- Clearing opens
- 1pm on results day
- Clearing runs until
- Late September
- Medicine applications
- 25,770 (up 10.4% on last year)
- Funded medical school places (England)
- Roughly 8,000-9,000
- Medicine acceptance rate
- Near one in four
- GCSE results day
- Thursday 20 August