STUDENTS at Oxford Brookes University will be charged the maximum £9,000 a year in tuition fees, it was announced yesterday.

Last night, teachers, sixth-form pupils and former students hit out at the decision – saying it heralded “dark times” for Oxfordshire’s youngsters.

The university claimed the increase would help “improve and invest in all areas of student life”, despite leaving graduates facing debts of nearly £30,000.

And with a quarter of its 18,000 undergraduate students coming from Oxfordshire, there were fears last night the decision could have a major impact in the county.

In a statement, Oxford Brookes vice-chancellor Janet Beer said: “I firmly believe this is the right decision.

“We have made this choice in what we believe is the best interests of our students and the region we serve.”

She added: “This university has for a long time prided itself on its values and commitment to ensuring higher education is available to people on the basis of ability rather than finance.

“I believe, given the context, this decision lives up to those values.”

She was unavailable to speak to the Oxford Mail directly to answer criticisms of the decision.

Wallingford School headteacher Wyll Willis said: “Every youngster thinking of going to university now has that extra thing to think about, and every family has that extra thing to think about.

“And I think some are going to say ‘that’s not worth it’.

“Unfortunately I think the people most likely to think that are the people from lower economic backgrounds, which are the people we are most trying to encourage.”

Oxford Brookes is the 31st university in the UK to announce it will charge the maximum amount.

Oxford University announced the same in March.

Current tuition fees are £3,375 a year.

Out of the 18,000 undergraduates at Oxford Brookes, more than 4,500 are from Oxfordshire.

Jake Farrow is a first year sixth form student at Gosford Hill school in Kidlington.

He said: “This year, I’m starting to think about which universities to apply to. But the £9,000 figure is a bit off-putting.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable yesterday warned universities would face further funding cuts and fewer places if the majority opted to charge £9,000. He said: “Under the new principle whereby funding follows student choices, some institutions could very well find themselves in trouble if students can’t see value.”

Brookes student union president Lucie Acraman said: “We are proud of the way the university has handled its consultation with the whole university.”

Miss Acraman said more money would now be spent to help more young people get access to university through foundation courses at sixth form colleges.

She added: “I came from a comprehensive school in Plymouth, in the first year of the top-up fees being introduced, but I wasn’t put off.

“People won’t be paying it back until they are earning £21,000. It is a debt, but not a crippling one.”

  • Helping hand

The university says it will introduce a £3.5m scheme to provide bursaries of between £300 and £2,000. They will be available for anyone who has a family income of £30,000 or less.

It will also introduce a series of fee waivers from £1,000 to £2,500, for families who earn below £40,000. It is expected that about 40 per cent of students will pay £8,000 or less.

The university will also have more money to make “quicker improvements to campuses and infrastructure”. The plan is to bring all university sites up to the standard of the £132m library and teaching building under construction at Gipsy Lane.

The number of foundation degree programmes offered at further education colleges, including Oxford & Cherwell Valley College, will be extended and will charge £6,000. A Brookes spokesman said these courses usually “attract students from backgrounds and traditions that do not normally have high participation rates in higher education”.

College spokesman Anne Wilstead said: “It was wholly expected that universities would be raising their fees to £9,000.

“We have a very close relationship with Brookes, offering foundation degrees and obviously this will affect the cost of our own fees. We are still reviewing our student support measures.” The college currently has 344 students taking foundation degree courses, run by Brookes.