Income from overseas student fees in England is increasingly being absorbed by a handful of elite universities, as experts warn that a “winner-takes-more” market is fuelling inequality.
Recent data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) shows that English members of Universities UK (UUK) took in £9.9 billion in tuition fee income from overseas students in 2024-25.
This was up slightly from £9.8 billion the year before but the benefits were not felt evenly across the sector.
Overseas tuition fee income rose 6 per cent among the Russell Group but it fell 4 per cent elsewhere.
It means the 19 English members of the research-intensive grouping included in the data increased their share of the total fee revenue from 52 per cent to 54 per cent.
