A NORTH-EAST university has disputed national figures which put it near the bottom of the league for attracting students.

It was reported yesterday that the number of students enrolling at Sunderland University dropped by 16 per cent in autumn, compared with the previous year.

But a spokeswoman for the university disputed the figures, claiming there was only a 4.2 per cent drop.

And she said that the number of post-graduate students who enrolled last year rose by 13 per cent, the number of part-time undergraduate courses rose by 33 per cent, and the number of overseas students rose by 34 per cent.

She said: "It is true that the number of young undergraduate students applying is declining, although not by those kind of numbers. But they make up only part of our student population."

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service report is expected to show that 2000 was a record year for student recruitment, but at least 7,000 government-funded extra places remained unfilled.