Last updated 09:19, Friday, 10 October 2008

More than half the UK’s students are being helped through university by their families, a survey has found.

Made it! With a little help from the family, plus Government aid, loans and part-time jobs

Parents and grandparents are helping some 58 per cent of students at university with the cost of their tuition fees, accommodation and living costs.

A survey of 60,000 university students conducted on behalf of the Halifax bank found the largest proportion of student funding came from the family.

Popular funding sources also included Government support, part-time jobs and taking out loans, with many students using a mixture of sources to cover their costs.

The findings show an increase in the amount of help being given to students by their parents. A similar survey conducted by the bank last year found exactly half the students surveyed were receiving money from their parents.

Students in Scotland were the most likely to be on the receiving end of parental help, with two-thirds saying their parents were paying for their studies.

But most people – 62 per cent – at Northern Irish universities said they were not being assisted by their families.

Mike Regnier, head of banking at Halifax, said parents were “a key contributor” to their children being able to study for a degree.

“These results show how much students still depend on their parents, even though they are leaving the nest to go off to college or university,” he said.

“The bank of mum and dad is still a key contributor to students affording further education.”

More students said they were saving to help pay for food, accommodation, leisure and university fees.

Around 36 per cent of students said they dipped into their savings to cover their costs - up seven per cent from last year.

A Halifax spokesman said the increase in family help for students was due to the rising cost of going to university.

Since 1998 students have had to contribute to their university tuition fees, as well as their living costs, and “top-up fees”, of up to £3,000 a year, were introduced in September 2006.

More people also emerged from higher education mired in debt as the cost of living rose and interest rate increases pushed up the cost of borrowing money.

Students now leave university owing up to £40,000, according to figures from the National Union of Students.

And figures released by the Student Loans Company, the public body responsible for providing financial support to higher education students, show the total amount owed by students rose 32.2 per cent to £3,905 million, before overdrafts and credit card debts were taken into account.

Meanwhile, figures have shown house prices in three university towns have more than doubled during the past five years.

The average cost of a home in Belfast soared by 105 per cent between June 2003 and June 2008, despite recent property price falls, according to Halifax.

Dundee also saw strong house price gains of 101 per cent during the period, while in Bangor, the average property’s value rose by 100 per cent.

A further 20 university towns saw average price rises of at least 50 per cent during the five years, with Aberdeen and Bradford leading the way with increases of 95 per cent and 94 per cent respectively.

Guildford is the UK’s most expensive university town in which to buy a property, with the average home there costing £363,503.

It is closely followed by Winchester at £343,332 and Bath at £326,403, with all 10 of the UK’s most expensive university towns being in the South East.