STUDENTS unhappy at the rising cost of education and housing are planning to give prospective first years an alternative perspective when they attend a university’s open days.

Durham University students campaigning against increased college accommodation costs and international tuition fees are planning to host open days for six formers visiting the city next week.

The university is welcoming potential students to events on June 27 and July 2 and protesting students are planning to be on hand to give their own viewpoints.

They have printed their own T-shirts and prospectuses, which they will be handing out around the city – and they will be offering tours of private student housing.

Organiser Jasmine Simms said: “My role is to answer honestly any questions which prospective students and parents have.

"The point is that whilst I do enjoy my time here, no one is paying me to say only good things.

"Universities are now businesses who will inevitably market themselves with this kind of positive bias, but they are also public institutions with ethical responsibilities to uphold, towards accessibility and sustainability."

Students are angry at the university’s decision to increase college accommodation fees by 3.5 per cent to more than £7,000 for a standard, catered room for the 2016-17 academic year.

They say accommodation costs have risen by 15 per cent in three years and from next year a standard room at Durham will cost nearly £2,500 more than one at nearby Newcastle University.

In December students dressed as mourners and carried a coffin through the streets of Durham to protest the “death” of affordable accommodation.

They have been holding other protests, including one today [Monday, June 20] to raise awareness among other students.

Another campaigner said: "I think that it’s important to remember that this action is a last resort - we don’t wish to put off prospective students but to put pressure on the university to change in a way that both students and residents want."

Another student, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: “We just want the university to listen to our concerns. We hope this will lead to some better consultations.

“I really hope this action is big enough to get a response from the university that says they really have listened to us.”

Durham University was unable to comment at the time of going to print.