The pushy parents who ruin college applications: Mums and Dads who phone universities themselves risk damaging their child's chances Leading headteacher warns parents against ringing universities to try and secure them a place on a good course Mothers and fathers are increasingly making contact themselves Hilary French: 'Don't let your parents fight your battles for you' Pushy parents are damaging their children's chances of getting into university by becoming personally involved in the admissions process, a leading headteacher has warned. Mothers and fathers are increasingly contacting universities themselves, thinking they will help secure a place on a good course for their child. But Girls" School Association president Hilary French warned it could have the opposite effect - and told teenagers not to let their parents near the phone. Confidence: A leading headteacher says students must pluck up the courage to speak to universities themselves "It comes down to the whole "helicopter parenting" thing," said Mrs French, who is also head of Central Newcastle High School. It is better to have an over-interested parent than uninterested parent and you can understand why they want to be involved because their children are making a huge investment now in their university education. But there must be boundaries to this. Now is not the time to be nervous on the telephone and it's certainly not the day for letting your parents fight your battles for you. By all means discuss your options with them but if you have to talk to universities you're on your own. She was backed by Clare Reseigh, head of sixth form at St Gabriel's School near Newbury, West Berkshire. "If you have to ring universities to confirm or re-negotiate your place, it goes without saying that it must be you who calls," she said. Under no circumstances allow your parents to call on your behalf because that will send entirely the wrong message about your maturity and commitment. The warning comes the week before hundreds of thousands of teenagers get their A-level results. Advice: Students applying for university places should not allow parents to call up on their behalf, experts say Those who do not automatically win a place can enter the clearing system. Some who get better grades than expected can also try trading up to a better university or course. Parents have increasingly been taking an active role in the process of applying to university as costs have soared - making the return on the investment more important. Students starting courses this year will pay up to £9,000 in tuition fees alone. Once living costs are taking into account, debts can spiral to more than £40,000 for a three-year course. Adding to the frenzy this year is the decision of an unprecedented number of elite Russell Group universities, including Sheffield and Birmingham, to offer places through clearing. Half of teenagers were accompanied by parents at university open days in 2011, according to one survey. Two years earlier the figure was 47 per cent. Mothers and fathers are also exercising their influence by filling out their application forms and fighting appeals on their children's behalf, according to universities. Helen Ness-Gifford, headteacher of Pipers Corner in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, also advised students who don't make the grades they want to demonstrate their independence to admissions tutors. "The most important thing is for you - not your parents - to talk to the university concerned, then look at clearing," she said.