Tuition fees are set to rise for the first time in eight years, increasing by £285 a year in April – as announced in the budget.
The increase comes alongside a rise in the maximum maintenance loan, which will give students an extra £414 a year to help with living costs.
Fees were previously capped at £9,250 for students in England, and had been since 2017.
Who is affected?
The rise applies only to students studying in England (for now). These are the caps in each home nation:
- Anyone studying in England will have a cap of £9,535;
- If you are a Northern Irish student studying in Northern Ireland the cap will be £4,750;
- Scottish students studying in Scotland pay nothing;
- The Welsh government announced earlier this year that their cap would rise to £9,250 (effective September 2024).
There have been no additional announcements, except the Scottish government saying it remains committed to free education.
Could the price cap rise any further?
If the government does commit to raising the cost of tuition in line with inflation (which it has not yet), fees could hit £10,680 by 2029.
The education secretary has not said if there will be any further rises.
Will you face higher repayments?
Not necessarily.
Most student loans are taken out with the Student Loans Company and repayments begin only after you graduate and start earning above the threshold (which varies depending on which plan you are on – see below).
At the moment, if the loan is not cleared after…
