Sixth form enrolment software provider Applicaa is investigating after its system “crashed” on GCSE results day.
The firm has apologised after its platform “disrupted” the enrolment process for nearly 300 schools until around 2pm on Thursday.
A spokesperson said they were “acutely aware of the gravity of today’s system disruption, especially during such a pivotal period”.
Although the system was rigorously tested in advance it “clearly fell short of the actual amount of stress it was put under,” they added.
Schools and students reported a “stressful” experience, waiting in queues to finalise enrolment and receiving error pages.
The company apologised on Twitter “for the system crash”. Some schools pushed back their own enrolment deadlines as a result of the problems.
Around 800 schools with sixth forms and sixth form colleges use the platform, but some choose to spread their enrolment days out before September, meaning not all were impacted yesterday.
A spokesperson said they were “carrying out a full investigation with our various partners to understand the exact root cause of the issues”. The system was working again today.
Applicaa is also contacting all schools affected to offer to complete their enrolment and said it shouldn’t have impacted on students getting a place.
The firm added 272 schools were using the platform on Thursday and 28,000 students were enrolled into sixth forms. They expected “many more to be added” today.
Impacted schools should contact the support team on 0208 762 0882.
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