Students ‘work over 20 hours a week’

It reveals that students are still likely to rely on loans to get them through university, but parents and savings are also common sources of income.

The poll of around 2,000 students found that women are more likely to have a paid job while studying than men (52 per cent compared to 42 per cent).

Overall, half say that they have a part-time job either during term time or the holidays or both, or hold down full-time work.

Some 21 per cent of those who have jobs said that they work 21 hours or more a week, the Endsleigh survey found.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) said that student loans are one of their main sources of income while studying, with 51 per cent citing their parents and 39 per cent saying savings.

For around one in four of the 2,072 university students quizzed in April and May, a part-time job during term time is one of their main sources of income, the poll.