More students leaving Latvia

  • 2010-12-15
  • From wire reports

RIGA - The number of home students accepted by British universities has fallen this year, with a corresponding growth in new students from overseas, including from Latvia, said an article in the Daily Telegraph newspaper in November, reports news agency LETA. 703 students from Latvia began studying at UK universities this year, which is 58 percent more than last year’s total of 445.

A notable rise was also seen in student numbers from other new EU members states, including Lithuania and Romania. Numbers of Romanian students rose 62.3 percent to 1,454, while the biggest rise was seen in students from Lithuania, with 1,515 students from the Baltic country beginning studies in the UK this year - a rise of 70 percent on last year.
Overall student numbers at British universities grew 0.4 percent this year, while the number of new home students fell 0.2 percent to 421,288.

According to figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, the number of students from mainland Europe soared by 7.2 percent this year - to 22,010. Students from EU member states have the same status and funding rights as those from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
China still sends more students to Britain than any other country, with 6,909 admitted this year, a rise of almost 14 percent.

In total, 688,310 people applied to British universities and some 479,057 were accepted. This means a record 209,253 people - one in three of those that applied - were rejected from degree courses this summer.