University towns across the UK could see student populations halve by 2020 as a result of soaring tuition fees, according to a new report.
Home insurer LV= conducted the survey and warns that parts of Newcastle upon Tyne, Lincoln and Sheffield could become ghost towns as non-local students choose to study closer to home and live with their parents. Currently only a fifth of UK full-time students live at home, although 52 per cent of younger students could be in local higher education by 2020, when tuition fees are expected to rise to more than £9,000 a year.
LV= urges parents to ensure they are properly insured as students have possessions worth £2, 500 on average at their family home. LV= home insurance managing director, John O’Roarke, said: “With such a vast number of higher education students set to remain in the family home over the next 10 years, we would urge parents to ensure they have adequate insurance in place.”