MORE than 230 students have been offered places to study at Newport's University through the clearing process so far this year.

A spokeswoman for the institution said it had twice as many places available through clearing compared to an extra busy period last year, which saw a surge in entries from students trying to avoid the fees increase which came in this year.

But despite this demand was still high with the volume of calls to the University of Wales' clearing lines higher than in 2011.

And two weeks after A-Level results were released advisors are still being kept busy, which the university said suggested people were generally taking longer to make decisions about the where they go.

A clearing day held on August 20 also attracted an extra 50 students who visited the city centre and Caerleon campuses to discuss their options.

Despite offering more than 230 places already to students who either had not already been accepted on a course, or who failed to get the grades they needed, more are available.

The spokeswoman added: "We will continue to be available over the coming days to help students and their families discuss their options and would therefore encourage people who have not yet secured a place to keep calm and get in touch."

The University and College Admissions Service said 357,915 applicants were accepted into a university or college on August 16, compared with 384,649 on results day last year - a 6.95 per cent drop.

It said that despite the fall in applications it expected to see an active clearing period, with more than 25,000 courses showing vacancies for UK applicants on results day.

Call the university's clearing hotline on 01633 432432 or e-mail uic@newport.ac.uk