As the new academic year starts, it is not just British universities and their accommodation providers that are keen to see how many Chinese students turn up physically for their enrollment week.

China has long been a leading source of international students for the U.K. The Higher Education Statistics Agency says that in 2010-20, 35 percent of all students from outside the European Union were from China.

The number of students from China rose to 141,870, or by 56 percent, over the five years to 2019-20.

Helena Beard, managing director of Guanxi, a Chinese marketing and PR agency in Brighton, said: “The Chinese are far and away the most important cohort of all international students for U.K. universities.”

One in 10 students at Russell Group, which represents Britain’s top 24 research-intensive universities, is Chinese, with a fifth of Russell Group income derived from China, and at Glasgow University about 31 percent of total tuition income comes from Chinese students, according to a report by The Times.

Although the final figures for Chinese students coming to study in the U.K. are not yet available, experts say indicators are promising.

Important initiatives are in place to help Chinese students come to the U.K., either to begin studying for their degrees or returning to studies. More than 50 universities, including Imperial College London, the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter, have jointly chartered four flights to bring in 1,200 Chinese students in time to start their degrees this month, The Times said.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service says that following the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU, the number of those from the continent wanting to study in the U.K. has fallen sharply, even as applications from Chinese students have continued to rise.

On August 10 the service reported a 56 percent fall in accepted applicants from EU countries. There was a 9 percent rise in the number of new applicants from outside the EU, with the number of applications from China rising 25 percent this year.

“Chinese applicants to U.K. universities now outstrip the total number of would-be students from the EU, highlighting the impact of Brexit,” Beard said. Rule changes since Brexit mean EU students now pay higher international fees at most British universities.

The other key factor at play is the decline in popularity of other major international study destinations, such as the United States and Australia.

While the overall size of the market will not be clear until all students have been enrolled, Beard said experts are unanimous that the U.K.’s share of this market will have risen this year.

(China Daily)