Christine Ohuruogu has encouraged local students to sign up for degree courses at University of East London, reports Daisy Miles

Bird’s eye view of the Clearing centre at the University of East London on A-Level results day

It’s that time of year, when young students are rushing to find a university place after getting their A Level results, and a local Olympic champion has stepped up to help them find their way.

The University of East London (UEL) is encouraging local students to consider enrolling through clearing and more than 1,000 calls were received in the day after the exam results were announced. The hunt for university places continues into September.

Among those on hand to advise was local Olympic Champion and UEL ambassador Christine Ohuruogu, who provided prospective students with advice. Ms Ohuruogu enrolled at UCL in 2002 and later studied law at Queen Mary College.

She said: “UEL is about giving opportunities to those who might not necessarily think there are opportunities for them to come and study here.

“It’s important to remind students that it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get perfect exam grades. You’re at the start of your journey and many things can and will happen. You have to learn to be able to be open-minded when things don’t go well, and know that people always want to help.”

Also helping the university on results day was Levan Peart, an MA Film student who enrolled at UEL through clearing.

Mr Peart took a break from education before taking a 10-week New Beginnings Programme, helping him prepare for his BA in Dance.

He said: “I think my support was really good. UEL has lots of different departments, such as the Disability and Dyslexia Team, and SMART [Student Money Advice and Rights Team] who deal with all things finance. They have great lecturers and access to one-to-one tutorials. I felt like with wraparound support, I was able to achieve academic success.”

More information about clearing at UEL can be found at uel.ac.uk/clearing

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