The university applications website struggled at times to cope with the weight of inquiries and a message urged students to “please try again later.”
The pass rate rose for the 29th successive year to hit 97.8 percent, while around one in 12 exams achieved the top A* grade, officials said on Thursday.
This will be the last year before universities start charging up to 9,000 pounds a year in tuition fees, triple the previous limit.
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said there would be a range of support for students from less wealthy families and graduates would only start repaying their fees once they earn more than 21,000 pounds.
“We don’t want any person to be put off from going to university by any fear that they can’t afford it,” he said.
Parliament voted to increase the tuition fee cap last December in a vote that triggered violent street protests in London. The decision also eroded the popularity of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who had previously said he would oppose such a rise.
The Trades Union Congress said the future looked bleak for indebted students searching for work at a time when one in five young people are unemployed.
“Because of the rush to avoid next year’s fees hike and the government’s refusal to fund extra university places, record numbers of students will lose out on higher education,” said TUC deputy head Frances O’Grady.
“Young people are being badly let down by this government — failure that carries a devastating social and economic impact“
The National Union of Students said a generation of young people face a “perfect storm” created by higher tuition fees, rising unemployment and public spending cuts.
“Those receiving their results today will sadly have to keep their wits about them and avoid the temptation to panic as they seek to navigate through the chaos and confusion left for them by ministers,” said NUS President Liam Burns.
The University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) estimates that nearly 400,000 students have already secured a university place, while 185,000 will have to find a course in the clearing system.
The level of pupils securing an A grade held steady at 27 percent, the same as last year, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) said.
There was a 7.4 percent rise in the numbers sitting a maths A-level and broadly similar increases across the sciences. Modern languages including Spanish, French and German all saw declines.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the positive results were in stark contrast to the rioting that some young people took part in across England last week.
“The last 10 days has seen huge public debate about the appalling behavior of a tiny minority of young people,” he said in a statement. “Today, however, we can all celebrate the success of the hundreds of thousands of students who have worked hard and are collecting their well-earned results.” (Editing by Steve Addison)
