In response to reports based on preliminary information provided confidentially to University of Bath by UCAS, Mike Nicholson, Director of Student Recruitment & Admissions, said:

“The figures reported have been disclosed at an early stage in this year’s application cycle.

“Most applications to UCAS so far are for medical, dental and veterinary courses which the University of Bath does not offer or to Oxbridge which operates to different timeframes from the rest of the sector.

"Final application figures will likely change significantly. Ill-informed speculation based on partial information is very unhelpful to the many applicants still considering their choice of University. There is clear evidence that our applicants are generally applying later in the admissions cycle. Last cycle as many as 20 per cent of all applicants nationally applied within the final 48 hours of the January UCAS deadline.

"Historically we receive almost eight applications per place. Our conscious decision to stabilise our undergraduate intake to maintain a high quality student experience, which includes our sector leading placement provision, sets us apart from others in the sector who continue to choose to expand their undergraduate numbers. We again successfully filled all planned places on our undergraduate courses this year. These exceptionally talented students are benefitting from a University which was rated Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), where 87 per cent of our research is as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF) and where their employment prospects on graduation remain excellent. Our graduates earn, on average, £4,500 more than the average graduate starting salary.”