A-LEVEL Results Day can be a very stressful occasion for many, especially with a place at university potentially on the line.

For some, results may not quite have been good enough to get a place on a certain course and some may not have received any offers they had wanted to accept in the first place.

This is where Clearing comes in as universities look to fill in any places they still have left on their courses.

But how exactly does Clearing work and how much extra will it cost you to use the service?

How does Clearing Work?

On the UCAS website, it says that "you can apply for a course using Clearing if you’re not already holding an offer from a university or college, and the course still has places."

This can be done if you didn’t meet the conditions of your university offers, you didn't receive any offers (or didn't receive any you wanted to accept) or you’ve declined your firm place using the ‘decline my place’ button in your application.

Clearing will close on Tuesday, October 17 but students have been encouraged to not waste time in going through the process.

Clare Marchant, chief executive of UCAS, told the PA News Agency: “It’s getting more competitive which means places are filled up quicker and therefore there are slightly less in clearing and the competitive stuff that is in clearing is likely to go faster.”

Once you've decided to commit to Clearing you can talk to an adviser at your school, college, centre, or careers office to discuss alternative courses and subjects.

Do you have to pay for Clearing?

You only have to pay for Clearing if you originally only applied for one course for the reduced fee of £22.50.

The usual fee for multiple choice application is £27 so you will need to pay the remaining £4.50 to use the Clearing service.