Students from underrepresented backgrounds who narrowly miss out on an offer from the University of Cambridge will now be given a second chance to enter the elite institution.

From this summer, Cambridge will participate in Ucas’ adjustment scheme from A-level results day.

The process allows students who have exceeded the terms of their conditional offer to refer themselves to another university.

Once their A-level results are known, those from disadvantaged backgrounds will be able to get in touch with Cambridge for reconsideration.

The university estimates up to 100 places may be offered under the scheme.

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It comes after a report last month showed just 2 per cent of those admitted to the University of Cambridge in 2016-17 were white students from deprived backgrounds.

Those applying for an undergraduate course under the adjustment scheme must also have applied and been interviewed during the 2018-19 cycle.

They must meet the relevant widening participation criteria and have achieved at least the typical offer for the Cambridge course applied for.

Dr Sam Lucy, director of admissions for the Cambridge Colleges, said: "Each year more than 14,000 students who apply to Cambridge are not made an offer. Students have to apply almost a year before they start their course, and some may be on an upward academic trajectory and not demonstrating their full academic potential at the point of interview.

"Adjustment provides those students who go on to achieve highly with an opportunity to be reconsidered as soon as they have their final results, rather than having to make a reapplication the following year.”

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Nick Hillman, director of the think tank Higher Education Policy Institute, said: " I saw during my own years as a secondary school teacher how there is an element of lottery in getting into places like Cambridge - and it has got worse since I left teaching 20 years ago.

"So if this reduces the element of chance for a few students, it is wholly welcome.”