ALL three Liverpool universities declared themselves full after A-Level students snapped up the few remaining places within hours of getting their results.

City academics said the scramble for places was the fiercest on record amid unprecedented demand and the chance to beat rocketing tuition fees coming into force in 2012.

The rush for clearing places was exacerbated when a five-fold increase in the number of visits to the UCAS Track website forced the site to close temporarily.

Tens of thousands of students were left in limbo when the service, which allows students to check if they have secured their university place, was shut down.

But, despite the major technical hitch, Liverpool’s three universities confirmed the majority of their last remaining course places within hours of clearing opening on Thursday.

A-Level results went up for the 29th consecutive year but students put celebrations on hold to hunt for a course via the clearing system – which matches those who did not get the grades they needed, or who turned down offers or received none – to courses with vacancies.

Liverpool John Moores University took the controversial step of reserving all its 400 clearing places strictly for the country’s top performing students.

And the university last night confirmed the last course slots vanished within hours, with a “staggering” 89,000 last-gasp inquiries from students – 50% more than in 2010.