University tuition fees expected to rise

Tuition fees in England are expected to be raised for the first time in eight years. Bridgit Phillipson, the Education Secretary across the border, will announce the increase which will see tuition fees rise in line with the Retail Price Index inflation.

The rise, expected to come in from September 2025, will affect A-level students who are currently applying to universities. Education is a devolved matter, so it will be for the Welsh Government to decide whether to raise tuition fees for universities here too - however, Welsh applicants studying in England would pay whatever the rise in England is.

Tuition fees in Wales, which had remained frozen at £9,000 for many years, were only recently raised to the same £9,250 level as in England. However with fees in England now expected to hike to £9,500 Wales may also choose to do the same.

Tuition fees in England have stayed at £9,250 since 2017. If Labour matches them to the current inflation rate of 2.7 per cent then fees would rise to about £9,500 from next year.

An announcement is expected at around 4.15pm in the House of Commons.

The news comes as institutions are facing financial crisis, with 40 per cent of English universities expecting to slump into a deficit this year and universities in Wales warning of the dire effects of financial pressure here, amid job cuts and recruitment freezes.

Wales’ eight universities currently face significant financial deficits, collectively spiralling north of £100m. Welsh universities do have significant liquid reserves (available cash), and there is no current suggestion that any are facing imminent insolvency.

Cardiff University, has just closed its voluntary redundancy scheme as part of measures to address a £30m shortfall. Bangor University last week that it is facing a £9m deficit on a 7% fall in UK undergraduates compared to last year and a calamitous 50% drop in postgraduate international students.

Aberystwyth University, which announced a £15m deficit back in the spring, has instigated two voluntary redundancy rounds, with the latest closing last month. Swansea University has confirmed that since launching a voluntary redundancy round earlier this year, which remains open, nearly 240 staff members have left the institution. Cardiff Metropolitan University also has a voluntary scheme.

The Welsh government has been approached for comment.