£40.4 billion from one year’s intake
New research puts the net economic benefit of international students who started UK courses in 2024/25 at £40.4 billion over the course of their studies — about £1 million for every ten students. The figure is the counter-argument to the levy and the visa restrictions, and it is calculated net of the costs those students impose on public services.
Universities: higher fees would not mean graduates repaying more
Universities have called it unhelpful and unrealistic to claim that raising tuition fees would lead to students paying back more money. Under income-contingent repayment most graduates repay a fixed proportion of income for a fixed period regardless of the balance — so for anyone who does not clear their loan, a higher fee changes the write-off rather than the monthly deduction. Student finance explained covers why.
A speaker and a students’ union, still arguing after the event
The gender-critical author Helen Joyce has written about her talk at the Durham Union and the union’s response, which she described as childish in tone. Debating unions are constitutionally separate from students’ unions, which is why one can host a speaker the other objects to — a distinction worth knowing when these rows recur in the autumn.