Universities could prioritise applications from poorer pupils and encourage middle-class students to defer their places in the wake of the Covid-19 disruption, the chief executive of Ucas has said.

The news comes after the government asked higher education institutions to prioritise students from disadvantaged backgrounds for admission “where possible” following the U-turn on A-level grades.

Universities minister Michelle Donelan wrote to vice-chancellors requesting their flexibility around admissions and asking them to honour all offers accepted, according to a copy of the letter seen by the Press Association.

Admissions: Why A-level U-turn limits Oxbridge chances for Year 12

GCSEs and A-levels: Key questions after the U-turn

Viewpoint: Could Covid help us rethink university applications?

She wrote that once admissions capacity is reached and additional places cannot be provided “then providers will see if a student would like a suitable alternative course or offer a deferred place, and where possible try to prioritise those from disadvantaged backgrounds for admission this year”.

Asked this morning about reports that disadvantaged pupils’ applications will be moved to the front of the queue for the 2020-21 academic year, Ucas chief executive Clare Marchant told BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme: “I think it is absolutely the right intention.

“I think we know from all of our survey work that those from most disadvantaged backgrounds really, really worry about money.

“And so if they are deferred for a year, or asked to defer for a year, we’re likely to see a drop-off. And so that’s the real intent behind that.

“I think what I would say is that universities are very individual, they make individual decisions, but all of them, having spoken to a number of them at Universities UK over the course of the last days and weeks, are looking to be super flexible - they want students to come to them.”

She added: “They won’t just be looking at that. They’ll be looking at a number of different things in terms of that individual student.

“So going back to the context of that student, when they applied, when they were made an offer, as well as the level of disadvantage. It will be one of a number of things that individual universities are looking at.”

But the head of an independent education think tank has said prioritising one group over another may not be easy.

The Higher Education Policy Institute’s Nick Hillman told The Times: “If I was a vice-chancellor, or running admissions, I would worry that the wording is open to all sort of challenges, even legal ones.

“Do they have sufficiently robust information to make that fine judgement? Is it based on parents’ salaries, or ethnicity, or other characteristics?”

Universities were told they would receive extra funding to help increase capacity on a number of courses after warning they had limited space for students whose results improved.

Vice-chancellors and doctors had called for the cap on student numbers in medical schools to be removed amid the grading chaos.

The U-turn on Monday - which meant A-level results would be based on teachers’ estimated grades - came too late for many students who had already made choices about universities based on the grades they were initially awarded.

Leading universities have warned students who have higher grades may still be asked to defer their place if there is no longer space on their preferred course, a move signalled in Ms Donelan’s letter.

The government’s Higher Education Taskforce - made up of university sector leaders - agreed on Wednesday to honour all offers across courses to students who meet their conditions this coming year wherever possible or, if maximum capacity is reached, to offer an alternative course or a deferred place.

Ucas previously revealed around 15,000 students who were rejected by their first-choice university will now meet the offer conditions after the grading U-turn.

Figures from Ofqual show the proportion of A-level entries in England which received top grades increased to a record high following the changes to the system this week.