Fewer than 2,000 new undergraduates started at Aberystwyth University in September - a fall which will cost the institution millions of pounds in lost fees.

UCAS figures released this week show that just 1,960 students enrolled at the university in September 2018 - a fall of 285 from the year before.

It is the first time in more than a decade that fewer than 2,000 new students signed on to join courses at the university.

The 285 drop in first-year student numbers means that - at full tuition fees for three years - the university is missing out on more than £7,500,000 in student fees at a time when finances are stretched and the university’s sustainability plans has seen scores of jobs axed, with departments merged and loss-making facilities closed down.

The 12 per cent fall in student intake comes despite the university offering more unconditional places for prospective students than any other university in Wales, data also shows.

Applications to study at Aberystwyth in 2018 fell to 8,690, down from 8,940 the previous year.

While applications remained higher than in 2014, the institution still trails rival Bangor University who received 8,740 applications from students for 2018.

The number of accepted students at Aberystwyth has now fallen to its lowest level since 2006, and is more than 1,100 down from its peak in 2011, falling by more than 25 per cent in the last eight years.

An Aberystwyth University spokesperson said that “student numbers for 2017/18 were broadly in line with expectations” and that the university has made “significant advances” in recent times.

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