Gavin Williamson has given his backing to wider investigation into post-qualification admissions (PQAs) following a review recommending that universities should only offer places to students after exam results are known.

Following an 18-month process, University UK’s Fair Admissions Review recommends that students would apply for university places before exams but would not receive offers until final results were known. Such a system of admissions to higher education, say UUK, would reduce reliance on predicted grades and address the practice of unconditional offers, aiming to ensure greater transparency and confidence in the system.

The review has identified that any change would have implications for school and university timetabling, and could pose challenges for highly selective courses, and when arranging interviews. It may also mean there are fewer teachers available over the summer to help students make decisions, and less time for applicants to respond to offers.

UUK expect any possible move to PQA to take at least three years to implement and will work with universities, schools, relevant organisations and government to develop and further test the workability of the proposed new approach and work through the challenges.

UCAS is also looking into options for fairer admissions with two models in particular under consideration. The first is around making course offers based on actual grades, and the second is having the application process after grades are confirmed, meaning the university term is pushed back to January. UCAS is set to publish full details about the impact of both models shortly.

A Department for Education consultation is expected in the coming months.