Highest student debt surpasses £230k, throwing student loans system into question

The highest outstanding student debt in the UK is more than £231,000, data obtained by the BBC has revealed, raising doubts over the viability of Britain’s student loans system.

Data released by the Student Loans Company (SLC) shows that the largest repayment a graduate has made exceeds £110,000, with another loan holder accumulating interest alone of nearly £55,000.

According to the SLC, graduates in England leave university with an average debt of £44,940, a figure then subject to interest.

The total outstanding debt for UK students has doubled in six years, surpassing £200 billion in 2023, a whole twenty years ahead of official projections.

A spokesperson from the student advice website, Save The Student, called the figures “truly eye-watering,” arguing that such a statistic was something they had never seen before.

The UK cannot pretend that university is accessible to everyone when there is the possibility of students incurring over £200,000 worth of debt

Chloe Field, Vice President for Higher Education, NUS

The National Union of Students (NUS), meanwhile, has suggested that the revelations raise serious questions about the university funding system.

Chloe Field, Vice President for Higher Education, called the figures: “An indictment of our education system.”

“The UK cannot pretend that university is accessible to everyone when there is the possibility of students incurring over £200,000 worth of debt.

“Student debt discourages people from working-class backgrounds from going to university, no matter how much they may thrive there or how much they want to go.”

The SLC has protested that the specific case of the £200,000 debt represents an “exceptional” case. The BBC’s Freedom of Information request found that the former student in question had studied “multiple courses”.

Ben Waltmann, a Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, stressed that such a huge sum was “highly unusual,” and that it “won’t be representative at all of most graduates’ experience”.

You almost become desensitised to how big the number is getting

Dr. Luke Amos, Junior Doctor

Dr. Luke Amos, a junior doctor who graduated in 2022, told the BBC: “You almost become desensitised to how big the number is getting, although it still shocks friends and family.”

Having undertaken a seven-year medical course, he said he had “no hope” of ever paying off his student loan, as he was unable to pay more than the interest being charged.

University fees now cost a maximum of £9,250 per year across all UK nations, although in Scotland, fees for Scottish students are capped at £1,820.

Outstanding debt at the end of loan terms is written off automatically. In 2022, the length of loan terms was extended from 30 to 40 years, for all students enrolling after August 2023.

A Department of Education spokesperson offered that: “It’s vital we have a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and taxpayers.”