Oxford University students face £9,000 fees

Oxford University plans to raise tuition fees to £9,000 a year, but more than 1,000 students will qualify for substantial reductions, it announced today.

First-year students will be charged £3,500 in tuition fees if their parents earn less than £16,000 a year. There will also be a reduction for students from households with an income of less than £25,000.

Professor Andrew Hamilton, vice-chancellor of Oxford, said: "We have paid particular attention to concerns about debt aversion among potential students from the lowest-income backgrounds."

Oxford also plans to award bursaries, on a sliding scale, to students from households with incomes up to £42,000.