Will Wales hike university tuition fees?

There could be "little choice" but for university tuition fees in Wales to go up after a price increase was announced in England, Welsh universities have said.

The Welsh government, which sets fees for Welsh universities where the cap is £9,250, said it would consider the implications of changes across the border.

In Westminster the UK education secretary said fees in England would rise to £9,535 next year after warnings of a financial "crisis" facing the sector.

Universities Wales said it was facing "some of the most pressing, urgent challenges in recent history".

The Welsh government said it recognised the pressure that universities faced and would confirm the fee cap for 2025-26 "as soon as possible".

Fees in Wales were raised earlier this year after being frozen at £9,000.

Universities have said that fees and grants no longer cover the costs of teaching UK undergraduates and international student numbers had fallen after changes to visa rules.

The mooted increase certainly did not come as good news to young people in Cardiff on Monday.

"A lot of my friends are dropping out because it’s too expensive and it’s hard to afford that amount," said Aaron, 20.

Nina Winstanley, 25, believes Wales would become a big draw to prospective students if its fees remained the same.

"People's priorities see them chose the place that's best for their course, but price and affordability now play such a big part in our lives that that’s got to be a factor," she said.

Deio Owen, president of the National Union of Students Cymru, said such a fee hike would only increase the numbers already opting out of further education to avoid being saddled with debt.

"I myself am in over £60,000 worth of [student] debt and it’s only increasing year on year."

Mr Owen called for government money "coming in through maintenance loans and tuition fee loans" to be used properly "by just giving it to universities", rather than "increasing the financial burden on students".

Universities Wales said: "Given the current pressures on public finances, if we are to sustain Welsh universities and the benefits they deliver for local communities then Welsh government could be left with little choice but to align Welsh fee levels with the uplift."

The Welsh government announced earlier this year that the cap on fees would rise to £9,250 from September 2024, bringing them in line with England.

Some Welsh universities have not brought the increase in yet because they had already made offers to students based on the previous fee level.

All Welsh undergraduates get a minimum maintenance grant of £1,000 towards living costs.

Students from lower income households can get up to £8,100 if they live away from home outside London, and up to £10,124 in London if their household income is £18,370 or less.

As well as grants, which do not have to be repaid, support can be topped up with loans.

The overall amount that Welsh undergraduates can claim in grants and loans is £12,150 for those living away from home outside London or up to £15,170 in London.

Support is lower if you live with your parents.

Students from England do not get maintenance grants but can take out loans up to a maximum of £13,348 in London for those with the lowest household incomes.

Most Welsh universities have outlined plans to cut staff amid financial pressures facing institutions across the UK.

The University of South Wales said it was predicting a shortfall of about £20m in 2024-25 and the action it was taking to address this was likely to include some redundancies.

In an update last month, Bangor University said it faced a £9m deficit after lower than expected student numbers.