Parents 'key contributor' to helping students get through university » Education » 24dash.com

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

Parents and grandparents are helping some 58% of students at university with the cost of their university 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% - 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% of students said they dipped into their savings to cover their costs - up 7% 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 debts 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% to £3,905 million, before overdrafts and credit card debts were taken into account.

:: Opinionpanel Research surveyed 60,000 students on behalf of Halifax bank in May.