FOR many school leavers, A-level results day means discovering if they have won a coveted place at university - but rising numbers are spurning a degree in favour of alternatives.
Figures suggest that teenagers are increasingly considering taking more practical courses and apprenticeships, with others planning to spend time abroad.
Two in five (41 per cent) young people have contemplated becoming an apprentice, according to one new poll, with more than a quarter (28 per cent) suggesting that choosing this route over a degree will increase their chances of landing a job.
The survey of 1,000 teenagers, commissioned by British Gas, also found that nearly half (43 per cent) believe students should pick an apprenticeship because it will allow them to earn while they learn.
However, it also reveals that two in five of those surveyed believe that their career options would be limited without a degree, and a quarter say that a degree is better than an apprenticeship.
Separate statistics published by notgoingtouni.co.uk show that 84,000 applications to school-leaver schemes including apprenticeships, college courses, vocational training programmes and job vacancies have been made through the website in the last 12 months. This is down slightly from around 115,000 last year across Britain and Northern Ireland.
More than 20,000 opportunities have been displayed on the site in the last year, with around 5,000 posted at any one time, a spokesman said, with accounting, engineering, IT, business administration and hospitality the top five most applied for sectors.