More than 200 first-year undergraduates, aspiring to become teachers, heaved a sigh of relief yesterday when they received an e-mail informing them they had been accepted onto the B.Ed Honours course starting tomorrow.

The delays were partly attributed to difficulties in finding student placements

The delays were partly attributed to difficulties in finding student placements that are an essential part of the course, a spokesman for the University said. Placements have now been found for all students.

This was compounded by the fact that the results of the A level re-sit exams were only issued last week, the spokesman said.

The father of a student who waited with bated breath for news welcomed the e-mail but said the fact that his daughter had to wait till the very last minute was very “unprofessional”.

Over the past weeks the staff at the Faculty of Education had been working tirelessly to secure placements for the applicant students, the spokesman said.

Yesterday, after securing all the placements, the University informed students – who had applied to start the Bachelor of Education (Honours) course as first and second preference – that they were accepted.

These included 99 students who will specialise in primary education and 135 who will focus on secondary subjects.

“The students can attend as from Monday, the opening ceremony and Freshers’ Week,” the spokesman said.