Growing trend for UK students to study in Oz

Faced with fees of up to £3,000 a year, some British students are voting with their feet and heading Down Under to study.

Since 2002, the number of UK students at Australian universities has risen by a third. At the moment, the number of expat academics is fairly small (just 6,250) but the idea is gaining a foothold amongst teenagers.

Why can this be? Antipodean course costs are more expensive and demand more money upfront - annual fees are between £4,800 and £10,000 and are payable each term. In England, fees are £3,000 a year and payable on graduation.

However, take a look at the lower cost of living and the decision to study Down Under starts making more sense.

Student spending on 'entertainment' (beer) comes to £1,481 over here; it's only £506 in Australia. UK students spend on average £570 on snacks; Aussie academic only spend £270. Clothes cost the average UK student £453; in New Zealand it's only £337.

Renting a room in a two-bedroom apartment, with all mod cons and a balcony looking out onto Bondi Beach, Sydney costs around Australian $585 per month - that's just £54 a week. Compare that to £80 a week for a room in Slough, Berkshire.

For other students, it makes sense to combine the urge to travel with actually studying abroad. Gap years can be expensive and the sooner a graduate hits the workplace and starts earning, the better.

According to the www.studiesinaustralia.com website, many students come to Australia for 'the relaxed, enjoyable and safe lifestyle', 'vibrant, appealing and multicultural cities' or simply the 'great weather'.

Of course, it would be cynical to wonder if some teenagers have simply been brainwashed by years of 'Neighbours' and 'Home and Away'!

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*Source: Going to University from Care by Sonia Jackson, Sarah Ajayi and Margaret Quigley for the Frank Buttle Trust 2005

**Source: Social Exclusion Unit 2006