Surge in EU students to beat Brexit fees hike

STUDENTS from poorer EU countries clamoured to get a subsidised university place in the UK this year, ahead of the Leave vote, statistics show.

Ucas, the university admissions body, said 8,900 youngsters from the least wealthy European nations began studies at British universities in September.

The figure is three and a half times higher than in 2006 – and some countries saw an increase of nearly 50 per cent on last year.

Experts say these students were keen to gain a ‘foothold’ in the UK as Brexit looked increasingly likely.

The data showed that across all EU nations, the number of students placed was up 7 per cent to 31,400 – an all-time record.

Around 2,100 of the total were from Poland, an increase of 27 per cent on the 2015 intake. A further 1,830 were from Bulgaria, a rise of 9 per cent.

The researchers examined entry to UK universities in September from the EU this year, according to GDP per capita – the output of a country divided by the number of people.

Hungary sent 580, a increase of 12 per cent, and 250 Croatian students were given places, up 48 per cent.

Alan Smithers, education professor at Buckingham University, said: ‘British universities are very attractive to EU students, with the high standards, capped fees, and taxpayer loans. They have particular appeal in the poorer countries because of the differences in quality of their universities and those in Britain.

‘But the surge has also been driven by the desire to get a foot-hold in this country before anything changed. It was clear even before the Brexit vote that the public was becoming increasing hostile to forking out so much money on Europe and that it was something with which the politicians would have to deal.’ There was also a increase from medium GDP countries, including Spain, Portugal and Slovakia, with the total in this group 11,600 – double the number in 2006.

Students from the EU pay subsidised fees of £9,000 a year, the same as English students. Since 2006, they have also had access to the same taxpayer-backed student loans.

The arrangement, which came in under EU law, could be scrapped as part of the Brexit negotiations.