UNIVERSITY applications from North-East students are down more than 11 per cent following the increase in tuition fees, official figures show.

According to UCAS, 16,887 people living in the North- East have applied to attend university this September, compared to 19,026 at the same time last year.

The drop of 11.2 per cent compares to a national average fall of 8.7 per cent, with only the South-West having a bigger decrease.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, applications fell by 8.7 per cent from 35,515 to 38,920.

Tuition fees for English universities are due to triple to a maximum of £9,000 this autumn.

But UCAS chief executive Mary Curnock Cook suggested that population changes could be a factor in the fall, and said the drop in demand was larger among wealthier students than poorer ones.

And some university leaders said the dip had been far less dramatic than had been predicted.

However, Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said the decrease in applications had been predictable following the increase in fees.

“It’s having a double effect in the North-East – first of all universities which aren’t Russell Group are being hit, and secondly the potential of young people in the region is being squandered,” he said.

“One in ten people are no longer applying to go to university because they can’t afford it – it’s as simple as that.”

Ms Curnock Cook said: “There has been a headline drop of 7.4 per cent in applicants, with a slightly larger fall in England.

“The more detailed analysis of application rates for young people takes account of population changes.

“This shows a fall of just one percentage point in the application rate in England, with little change across the rest of the UK.”

Figures for individual universities show applications to study full-time degrees a Durham University increased by 6.6 per cent.

Teesside University saw its applications fall by one per cent, while applications to Sunderland plummeted by 15.9 per cent.

Despite the decrease, Teesside University vice chancellor Professor Graham Henderson said he was “hugely encouraged” by the figures, which he said reflected the fact that the university was increasingly recognised for the quality of its student experience and the investment it has made in the students’ learning environment.