Student fees to rise for the first time in eight years
Home fees to increase to £9,535 in September 2025 in line with inflation rates.
Undergraduate tuition fees for students in England will increase from £9,250 to £9,535 for the 2025/26 academic year, marking the first rise since they were capped in 2017. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed this change in Parliament on Monday 4th November through an announcement on “higher education reforms”.
Phillipson announced that maintenance loans will also be adjusted to support students facing the rise in the cost of living. Loan caps for students living in London will rise from £13,348 to £13,762, while students outside London will see a change from £10,227 to £10,544. Despite these changes, Phillipson assured that student loan repayments for graduates would not increase.
This rise in prices is tied to inflation adjustments based on the Retail Price Index (RPIX), which is currently at 3.1%.
The recent announcement has been met with mixed reactions, given Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 2020 Labour party leadership campaign promised to eliminate tuition fees altogether. Conservative Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott commented that students will “suffer” from increased tuition. Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive of Universities UK, the organisation which represents 141 universities and higher education providers in Britain, has welcomed the changes as “the right thing to do.” She also described the previous price freeze as “completely unsustainable for both students and universities.”
The increase in fees comes after growing concern for universities finances after the Office for Students warned that 40% of universities have predicted a deficit for the 2024/25 academic year.
A long-term plan detailing the future of tuition fees after April 2026 is yet to be outlined by the government.
