A SHAKE-UP of university admissions, which would have led to a radical change in Scottish school exams, has been rejected.

Last year, the university admissions service Ucas suggested bringing applications across the UK into line, which would have led to a much earlier exam diet in Scotland.

The idea behind the change was to ensure students in England were able to apply to their chosen university based on their actual grades, rather than getting conditional offers on predicted grades.

However, universities and school bodies in Scotland opposed the changes, arguing that it would put Scottish applicants at a "considerable disadvantage" to those elsewhere in the UK by shortening preparation time for exams.

Simon Jennings, deputy director of Universities Scotland, which represents university principals, welcomed the Ucas move.

"Universities Scotland was supportive of the principle of post-qualification applications, but had a number of practical concerns," he said.

"We are pleased that Ucas has listened to those concerns."

However, Robin Parker, NUS Scotland president, said moving the admissions process could have had advantages for students from poorer backgrounds.

"It would have allowed universities to judge prospective students on their real grades, rather than predicted grades, which can be inaccurate for people at schools that aren't used to sending their pupils on to universities."

The decision came as the latest figures on university entry from Ucas confirmed a fall in numbers of students from the rest of the UK applying to Scotland. There has been a 5.6% fall in student applications from England and a 15% decline from Northern Ireland.

The decline follows the decision by the Scottish Government to allow universities north of the Border to introduce fees of up to £9000 for students from the rest of the UK.