Tuition fees are set to go up to £9,535 for home students starting from next year, marking the first increase in eight years, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said in a statement. This will apply to students in England – fees in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are to be determined by the devolved governments. The monthly loan repayments are not set to increase as a result of these changes, and will continue to correspond to increases in salary.
The rise constitutes a 3.1% rise in maximum tuition fees. At the same time, higher maintenance loans will be available for certain students from autumn 2025, constituting a rise by around 3.1% in England next year. This will provide students with up to £414 more per year. according to the statement.
Home student fees have been capped at £9,250 since 2017. Over summer, Whitehall sources told The Times that officials were drafting plans that would see tuition fees rise to £10,500 over the course of five years, rather than the currently announced £9,535, and that maintenance grants would be restored for lower-income students. This follows calls from advocacy group Universities UK, of which Oxford University is a member, for increased tuition fees as institutions struggle with finances, partially due to declining enrolment of international students who pay over £30,000 a year.
The Labour Party, under Keir Starmer, initially included scrapping tuition fees in its pledges during his 2020 leadership campaign.
