Engineering confidence for clearing: how a leading UK university optimised performance for 40,000+ students

OUR CLIENT 

A major UK university with over 40,000 students, based in a large metropolitan area and offering a broad portfolio of academic programmes across undergraduate and postgraduate levels. 

THE CLIENT CHALLENGE 

Each August, A-Level results day triggers a major peak in web traffic as students across the UK access university clearing portals. For our client, this created a high-stakes performance challenge: 

• The clearing site had to support tens of thousands of users simultaneously, with timely and reliable access to course information. 

• The original requirement specified 20,000 concurrent users but lacked clarity on duration and actual usage metrics. 

• Although no issues were expected, the client sought external validation to ensure confidence and readiness. 

• Testing would need to reflect real conditions and ideally take place on the live website without disruption. 

• There were open questions about tooling, volume needs, and how to manage potential costs. 

WHAT WE DELIVERED 

Through our Test Automation and Continuous Testing solution, Roq provided a full-service performance engagement - from requirements clarification through to post-event assurance: 

• Defined and refined non-functional requirements, identifying page load request rates as the critical metric. 

• Developed a performance test suite based on real user journeys and created supporting test coverage documentation. 

• Selected the right tooling and managed the third-party tool vendor relationship to reduce complexity for the client. 

• Executed multiple test cycles, including defect retesting, running tests overnight on the live environment to ensure realism without disruption. 

• Handed over a reusable performance pack and upskilled the client team to continue using it independently. 

CLIENT IMPACT 

By embedding a thoughtful and cost-effective performance testing approach, Roq enabled the university to deliver a seamless experience to thousands of students, and set a benchmark for future peak-readiness: 

• Validated performance at 2x required page load volume, ensuring exceptional reliability on A-Level results day. 

• Saved approximately £9,000 in tooling costs by optimising the virtual user load from 20,000 to just 1,000. 

• Clearing day was a success, with no site issues and thousands of students securing their university places. 

• Client team was upskilled, supported by Roq’s Quality Engineering principle of coaching for long-term impact. 

• Positive stakeholder feedback, with the project described as “a real success” and follow-on support already in discussion. 

To find out how Roq’s Test Automation and Continuous Testing Solution can support your business, contact our experts at ask@roq.co.uk. 

Roq was exactly what we needed - the project was a real success.” 
– Client stakeholder