Record numbers are expected to be disappointed when A-level results are published next week, because the recession has made competition even fiercer for places, the numbers of which have been cut this year.

A Guardian Investigation this week found that many universities already have no places left to offer through clearing, while a number, including Warwick, the London School of Economics and Nottingham, had turned away even students predicted to get the new top A* grade. Some 170,000 could find themselves without a place.