HESA data reveal universities with highest dropout rates

Data also spike in the proportion of international university staff

There has been a year-on-year increase in the proportion of students dropping out of university before graduating, official figures show.

According to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, some 6.8 per cent of UK full-time, first degree students aged under 21 did not continue to study after their first year in 2017-18, an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared with the previous year. In 2015-16, the figure was 6.6 per cent.