UK pays £5.7bn first term student loans in new academic year

UK Flag. Photo: Ballymoney Chronicles

The United Kingdom has paid £5.7bn in student finance for the first term of the 2026/27 academic year, including £3bn in maintenance loans to students and £2.7bn in tuition fee payments to education providers.

The Student Loans Company disclosed this in a report published on the UK Home Office website on Wednesday.

According to the statement, “the £3bn in maintenance loans was paid directly to students in September, while the £2.7bn in tuition fee payments was released to education providers in October.”

The company said most first-term payments had been made, adding that it was continuing to support students who applied after the deadline and might have initially received only the minimum level of student finance.

“Where a student applied late for funding, we awarded the minimum maintenance loan and their tuition fee loan to ensure they had funding to start their term,” the statement said.

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It added that the remaining funding would be paid as a top-up once all the necessary application details had been confirmed.

The company said applications could take up to four weeks to process and encouraged students to apply as early as possible.

It also announced that students starting courses on or after January 1, 2027, would apply for student finance through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement funding scheme.

Applications for the scheme are expected to open by the end of October 2026.

The company noted that the figures were provisional, adding that full-year figures would be published in its Student Support for Higher Education statistical release on November 26, 2026.

Tosin Oyediran is a journalist with Punch Newspapers, bringing over eight years of newsroom experience to his coverage of politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment. Known for sharp interviews and human-centered reporting, his work focuses on public accountability, civic issues, and the stories shaping everyday lives.

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