The declining number of teenagers means that universities have to go to more extreme lengths to fill their places

Soaring numbers of unconditional offers made by universities to school leavers risk undermining the A-level system, the exam regulator has warned.

Officials told MPs that they were worried that a growing number of pupils taking A levels were not concerned about what results they got.

The Times revealed last week that unconditional offers rose by 40 per cent last year as universities scrambled to fill places. There were 51,615 made in 2015-16 — more than 5 per cent of all offers — compared with 36,825 last year and 2,985 in 2013.

The declining number of teenagers means that universities have to go to more extreme lengths to fill their places and collect tuition fees.

In the past, unconditional offers were made to a few thousand