Deferring a uni place?

I wanted to contact UCAS but I’m not calling them lol but basically I want to know how deferring works- I’ve had my 5 offers and have chosen firm and insurance offers but since I don’t get a chance to get good grades due to COVID 19 I have no idea what my grades will be since they’re going off predicted ones. I’m aware I may not get in to my course if I don’t meet the entry requirements which is **** but I have plans to go through clearing if necessary, however if I do get in I’m still not sure i want to go and miss out on freshers week. Most of my mates are deferring their offers because of this or the lack of actual uni learning they will get and so I was wondering if by deferring I will definitely get in ( if I get the grades) next year? As in there’s going to be so many not going to uni from my year and then next years lot will also be wanting to go so I need to know how it works: do deferred offer students get their places no matter what? Do they have to compete the next year with all the other younger students? Is it 100% that I would go next year provided I get the grades? Because surely as a result of the pandemic they are going to have nearly double the usual intake? I’m not sure and would really appreciate any comments as I don’t want anything to go wrong and me end up never getting into uni lol Thanks

Firstly you apply for deferment and it is for the university to decide whether they agree to this. If they do they keep your place for a year. If not, then you would have to apply next year and go in the application cycle with all year 12s.