Huge fall in number bidding to study in Yorkshire

Applications to Yorkshire universities have slumped by more than 20,000 as new figures suggest the region is being hit harder than the rest of the country by the Government’s £9,000 tuition fee hike.

Three Yorkshire universities have suffered major drops in numbers this year, including Sheffield Hallam in Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s home city, which had 18 per cent fewer applications – a drop of almost 9,000.

It was one of two former polytechnics in the region now planning to charge fees of £8,500 a year which have experienced a sharp fall in applications. The other, Leeds Metropolitan University, had 15.6 per cent fewer applicants this year.

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Hull University, which will charge the highest-possible fees of £9,000 a year, saw applications drop by 17 per cent.

A student union leader in Yorkshire blamed the trebling of fees, and warned that young people are still angry with the Liberal Democrats for failing to fulfil pre-election promises to oppose any increase in the cost of tuition.

Sheffield Student Union president Thom Arnold added: “It is clear the effect the higher fees have had. If you look at the national figures you can see the impact.

“The number of people applying from England is down 9.9 per cent, while in Scotland – where there has been little change to higher education fees – it is down 1.5 per cent. The Liberal Democrats need to reconsider their position.”

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Mr Clegg was unavailable for comment last night. But a Lib Dem spokesman insisted the national figures showed Labour “scaremongering” over the impact of fees was in fact untrue, suggesting the drop in applications came from mature students rather than school-leavers.

And Sheffield Hallam’s deputy vice chancellor, Professor Cliff Allan, said it was misleading to compare application figures with 2011, as that had been an “exceptional year” – with more candidates applying in order to miss the higher fees coming in 2012.

Yorkshire’s two elite Russell Group universities, Leeds and Sheffield, saw declines of 5.9 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively.

Huddersfield’s overall application numbers were down 3.7 per cent, though the number of applications for full-time degrees rose by 9.6 per cent.

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York St John University bucked the trend, however, enjoying 11.2 per cent more applications this year despite the higher fees. Bradford – which is charging maximum fees of £9,000 – saw a small increase of 0.4 per cent. York University saw a reduction of 0.5 per cent.

University leaders claim the overall drop is partly down to demographics, with fewer 18-year-olds in the year group who are applying to start in 2012, and partly down to a spike in applications last year.

UCAS, which published the application figures yesterday, said the drop in demand was larger among wealthier students than poorer ones.

UCAS chief executive Mary Curnock Cook said: “Our analysis shows decreases in demand are slightly larger in more advantaged groups than in the disadvantaged groups.

“Widely-expressed concerns about recent changes in funding arrangements having a disproportionate effect on more disadvantaged groups are not borne out by these data.”