UNIVERSITIES across the North-East face having to reject thousands of top A-level students because of an overwhelming pressure on course places.

Record numbers of applications have seen universities such as Durham and Newcastle having to turn away students - even though many are predicted straight-A grades.

Newcastle University's medical school is one of the most popular in the UK, with 3,462 applying for only 340 places this year.

The university came under fire last week when it rejected Lucy Barnett, 18, from Surrey, despite the fact she achieved four A-grade A-levels.

Professor Reg Jordan, dean of undergraduate studies within the medical faculty, said there was a strict method of shortlisting applicants, many of who reach the required academic criteria.

"Gone are the days when students could get into university on grades alone," he said.

"At interview, we will look at what they are like, why they want to do this course, their communication skills and if they have any relevant work experience.

"These things are important. If someone wants a career in medicine it comes down to more than academic ability.

"The girl in question - Lucy Barnett - while I'm sure she was very good, unfortunately, did not meet all our criteria."

Elsewhere in the region, the University of Teesside has received 443 applications for 75 places on its computer games programming degree and 762 students applied for the 224 places on its adult nursing diploma course.

Leading universities, such as Durham, which has received 18 applications for every place in its law school, are becoming more competitive than Oxford and Cambridge in some subjects.

Many students and colleges are now expected to call for a new form of admission exam, like the Sat - scholastic aptitude test - in US, to help university tutors discriminate between the large number of applicants with top A-level grades.