Raleigh International

Half of current final-year students would have been put off going to university by £9,000 a year tuition fees, a new study has shown.

UK universities intending to charge £9,000 a year in tuition fees will have to spend almost double what they currently spend on recruiting disadvantaged students, The Office for Fair Access (Offa) has said.

The exams regulator is calling on universities to give clear guidance to students who it says are often left confused by the admissions process.

The coalition government has won the vote to increase tuition fees for students in England to up to £9,000 per year.

The controversial plans have faced criticism from all parties, but the move was carried by 323 votes to 302 as thousands of protesters opposed to the rise in fees clashed with police outside parliament. Even Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were caught up in the protests as they were driven to the Royal Variety Performance but were unharmed.

As students prepare for their fourth day of protests, a lecturer's union has said that a third of England's universities are "at risk", with some facing closure.

The UCU has said that plans to cut budgets has left some universities in a very difficult situation with 49 facing "serious impact" and four at "very high risk".

As students took to the streets again to protest over the proposed hike in tuition fees, university vice-chancellors warned of the devastating impact if politicians fail to agree on the plans.

Universities UK (UUK) head Professor Steve Smith said that without higher fees, student places would have to be cut, as teaching grants are axed.

Thousands of students took their fight against the hike in university tuition fees to London's streets today.

The rally, organised by the National Union of Students and University and College Union, was in response to the plans, announced by the government last week, to increase the tuition fees up to £9,000 a year.

Students could end up paying up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees in a plan that could be implemented as soon as 2012, it has been announced.

Universities minister, David Willetts, has said government proposals outline the "basic threshold" for tuition fees to rise to £6,000, with some institutions charging up to the £9,000 limit.

Taking a gap year is much more than a CV skills boost and the chief of UCAS has got it wrong about the ‘golden age of the gap year' being over, a newspaper has reported.

Writing in the Times, Charles Starmer-Smith has challenged UCAS head Mary Curnock-Cook saying that even though students are fighting for university places, a gap year doesn't have to be all about bolstering a CV. He argues that a voluntary placement, and the structure it affords your year off, can be hugely rewarding if it is taken for the right reasons. But, he continues, it is just as important to break free from the institutional shackles, to take a step back and learn to fend for yourself for a while.

After thousands of young people picked up their A Level results this week, the gap year industry is set to expect a boom as many students miss out on a place at their chosen university.

More students are expected to take a gap year this year and one company is even predicting a 150% rise in bookings as students look for alternative options to university.