Half of the UK’s leading universities are from next year set to increase the number of degree subjects requiring three A-grades at A-level, or the new top A* grade, a Financial Times survey has revealed.

The news underscores the increasing competition for places at the most desirable institutions, at a time when ever more teenagers are applying for university and many schools are trying harder to extract top grades from pupils. On Thursday figures showed university applications had leapt nearly 10 per cent in the past year alone.