This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme) and marks the second year of reporting using the new data model. Once again, a comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying student data quality report. A detailed list of findings is available in the data quality and insights resource, which is also accompanied by provider specific data notes. The coverage of data is detailed in the notes section of this release. In summary, we cover data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK: -Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; -Publicly funded HE providers in Northern Ireland and Scotland; and -Providers in Wales that are funded directly for higher education provision by Medr and providers in Wales that return data to HESA about specifically designated courses. This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate Offshore record which can be seen in Figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.

In 2023/24 there were estimated to be over *** million students enrolled in higher education courses in the United Kingdom, compared with 2.94 million in 2022/23, the highest number of enrolled students during this provided time period. Although the number of students in the UK fell from *** million in 2011/12 to **** by 2014/15, this trend reversed in subsequent years, reaching the peak in the most recent year. Largest UK universities At ******* students, the mainly remote, Open University had the largest number of students enrolled among UK-based higher education institutions in 2022/23. University College London had the second-highest number of students at ******, followed by the University of Manchester at ******. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were ******, and ****** students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at *******students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at ****** students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having ****** students. Student Debt in the UK For students that graduated from English universities in 2024, the average student loan debt incurred over the course of their studies was over ****** British pounds. Although students graduated with less debt from universities in Wales, Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, this too has been growing recently. In 2024, students from Scottish Universities graduated with an average of ****** pounds of debt, compared with ****** in Wales, and ****** in Northern Ireland. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over *** billion pounds in 2023/24, with the vast majority of this debt from students who studied in England.

This bulletin provides details of staff employment at UK higher education (HE) providers on 1 December 2023. Detailed analysis of the HESA staff record is available in the Higher Education Staff Open Data. This bulletin has been produced by Jisc in collaboration with statisticians from the Department for Education, the Office for Students, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland. It has been released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

Experimental statistics from the Student Cost of Living Insights Study (SCoLIS) in England. Includes information on the behaviours, plans, opinions and well-being of higher education students in the context of the increases in cost of living.

In 2023/24 there were ***** higher education students from Ireland studying in the United Kingdom, making this the most common European Union country of origin in this academic year.

There were ******* higher education students from India studying in the UK in 2023/24, the highest of any non-European country in the provided time period.

Over the five years through 2024-25, the Universities industry's revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.1% to £56.5 billion. The increase in tuition fees to £9,250 in 2017-18 has been an important driver of revenue growth. However, with tuition fees frozen since then, inflation and particularly high inflation in the two years through 2023-24 has meant their real value has plummeted. The cap on undergraduate student numbers in the UK was lifted in 2020-21, leading to a rise in student enrolments, which has helped prop up universities’ income. Universities have struggled in the face of cuts to the level of research funding received from the government and disruption caused by the pandemic. Teaching went online in the final term of 2019-20 and remained there for most of the 2020-21 academic year due to restrictions imposed following the COVID-19 outbreak, pushing down revenue. However, despite fears of a fall in demand, student applications for 2020-21 rose and continued to climb in the following year. Universities are benefiting from the UK rejoining Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research programme – they’ve been able to access funding since January 2024. However, there are big concerns over ailing international student numbers since they currently prop up univeristy finances and help to subsidise domestic students' places. The introduction of the dependant ban in January 2024 on overseas students bringing family with them on their student visa for taught masters has seen applications from several countries fall. Revenue is still set to grow 1.9% in 2024-25 as funding levels rise and student numbers remain high. From April 2025, the DfE has confirmed tuition fees are due to increase in line with inflation to £9,535, which should lift revenue for universities. Over the five years through 2029-30, university revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 1.2% to reach £60 billion. Strong demand from domestic students will further support revenue growth, with rising tuition fees boosting revenue post 2025. Commitment to the graduate visa route could be a positive signal for international student applicants, but the industry will need more funding intervention to prevent closures and budget cuts.

In 2023/24 the share of female students achieving a first class degree in the United Kingdom was 30 percent, compared with 27 percent of male students.

There were 133,265 students enrolled at the UK-based Open University for the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 140,215 in the 2022/23 academic year, which was by far the highest number of students enrolled during this provided time period and a reflection of the move towards distant learning after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date. The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Third-level education institutions benefit from rising enrolments as the number of 19- to 24-year-olds in Ireland rises and more pupils achieve the qualifications needed for university courses. This supported universities’ revenue, which will grow at a compound annual rate of 5.8% over the five years through 2025 to €3.3 billion. Revenue across the period took a sizeable blow from the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite rising student numbers, revenue fell back in 2020 and 2021 due to a drop in students on campus when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. This decimated revenue earned from on-campus activities, like student accommodation and dining halls. At the same time, travel restrictions slashed international student numbers, further reducing revenue. Since 2022, students have returned to campus, and Irish universities have seen higher international enrolments. Since Brexit, enrolments from EU students have soared. That’s because Brexit made the UK less attractive to EU students wishing to study at an English-speaking university, as they would have to pay higher international fees. Irish universities have also benefitted from rising international student enrolments, supported by continued high rankings of many institutions, including in the 2023 QS World University Rankings. Students from India, China and the United States continue to sharply rise. Since international students pay higher fees, this will contribute to revenue growth of 2.1 in 2025. Revenue will continue benefitting from tuition fee growth and an increasing intake of both domestic and international students. Industry revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.3% over the next five years to reach €4.1 billion. Government funding of €194 million has been earmarked for Funding the Future to help students. Funding will help address the core funding deficit, as well as improve the quality of education and attract even more students. Under-represented students (e.g., low-income and disabled students) will benefit from funding prioritised to improve accessibility to higher education for these groups. There will also be a continued rise in the number of international students, supported by the establishment of more reputable technological universities.

In 2023/24, the Open University, which focuses on remote learning, had approximately ******* students enrolled on courses, the highest in the UK during that academic year. After the Open University, University College London had the highest number of students in the UK, at ******, while the University of Manchester had the second-highest, at ******. The UK's oldest university, The University of Oxford, had ****** students studying there in this academic year.

In the 2023/24 academic year, there were ******* enrollments for courses involving business and management studies, making it the most popular subject group in that year. Subjects allied to medicine had ******* enrollments, making it the second-most popular course in that year.

In the 2023/24 academic year, 29 percent of undergraduates obtaining their degree were awarded a degree with first-class honors, the highest possible grade for UK graduates. Almost half of all students achieved an upper second or 2.1, with 20 percent obtaining a lower second or 2.2, and just four percent of graduates obtained a third, the lowest possible pass grade. The share of UK students graduating with a first-class degree has increased significantly in this time period, while the share of students obtaining a 2.2 has fallen the most in the same time period. GCSE and A-Level grades also on the rise Higher grades for the UK's main qualification for high school students, the general certificate of secondary education (GCSE), have also increased recently. In 1988 for example, approximately 8.4 percent of GCSE entries received the highest grade, compared with 21.8 percent in 2024. This is also the case to a lesser-extent for advanced level GCSE results (A-Levels), with the share of entries being awarded an A or A* increasing from 17.8 percent in 2000 to 27.8 percent in 2024. There is no consensus on if these improvements are due to increased ability, or to grade inflation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, grades in the UK were a lot higher than in other years. This was due to teacher and tutor assessments being giving a higher weighting than normal, with exams being postponed or cancelled completely. The UK's top universities Britain's oldest and most famous universities, Cambridge and Oxford, remained the two highest-ranked universities in the UK in 2025, with the London School of Economics finishing third. According to the ranking, the University of St Andrews was the top university outside the south of England, with Durham University being the highest-ranked university in the north of England. The largest university in terms of enrolled students was the mainly remote focused Open University, which had over 140,000 students in 2022/23. Among universities that mainly taught on-campus, University College London had the most students enrolled, at almost 52,000.

Government spending on higher or tertiary education in the United Kingdom amounted to 4.5 billion British pounds in 2024/25, compared with 7.2 billion in the previous financial year.

In Summer 2025, GCSE students in the United Kingdom had a pass rate (achieving a grade of C/4 or higher) of 67.4 percent, compared with 67.6 percent in the previous year. The COVID-19 pandemic, and closure of schools in the UK led to exams throughout the country being cancelled, with grades in 2020 and 2021 based on assessment by teachers and schools. During this provided time period, the highest pass rate was reported in 2021, when 77.1 percent of GCSE entries achieved a pass grade, while it was lowest in 1988, when just 41.9 percent of entries were awarded a pass grade. Gender attainment gap Among female students, the proportion of GCSE entries that received a pass rate in 2025 was 70.5 percent, compared with 64.3 percent of male students. This attainment gap between male and female students has been a consistent feature of GCSE exam results in recent years, with female A-Level students also outperforming their male counterparts. Among undergraduates, this gap is less pronounced, with UK degree results for 2023/24 showing female undergraduates attaining only slightly higher grades than males. Growing negativity about UK education system According to a survey conducted in April 2025, approximately 39 percent of British adults thought that education across the country was in a bad shape, compared with 31 percent who thought it was doing well. This is down from 2021 when just under half of adults believed that the national education system was good, and just 27 percent who thought it was bad. Although education currently lies behind several other issues for Britons in terms of importance, such as the economy, immigration, and health, the growing discontent about education will likely be one of the many issues the current Labour government will have to face in the coming months.