The number of students applying to go to universities has fallen nationally, due partly to Government tinkering with the way places are funded. Education reporter Haydn Lewis dropped in at York College to see if students there have been put off.

HEADLINE figures would have us believe that the number of youngsters going to university is in decline, thanks in part to an overhaul of the way higher education is funded.

But if people are being put off taking up places nationally, nobody has told that to the students at York College.

The college, in Tadcaster Road in the city, is the largest provider of further education in the area, and this year more than 700 students have submitted UCAS applications to go on to study at university.

The number of York College students applying to universities has grown steadily over the past two years, currently bucking the national trend. In 2004 622 students were placed at university, and last year 718 York College students secured places.

This is despite reports last month that applications from students applying for courses starting this autumn at York University fell by five per cent on last year, when there was a 3.1 per cent increase.

The university received a total of nearly 19,000 applications, competing for just over 2,000 places, with 54 per cent from women, 46 per cent from men.

But at York St John University College the number of applications went up by three per cent, compared with the same time last year.

The statistics followed a record number of university applications last year, when students rushed to sign up for courses, worried by the prospect of the introduction of top-up fees from September this year.

We asked if the prospect of being about £20,000 in debt at the end of a three-year course did not deter some students?

York College principal Mike Galloway said: "There was always a fear that some of us had that these changes would impact on some students, particularly those from poorer backgrounds, and stop them from making applications. But that doesn't appear to have happened."

National Diploma media publishing student Caroline Jillings, 17, has been accepted to study media at Westminster University, on a top course. Caroline is the first member of her family to go to university.

She said: "I was a bit worried about debt, but when I realised I'd got in to Westminster it just didn't matter."

Former Huntington School pupil Faye Chapman, 18, is doing a National Diploma in applied science, and wants to study pharmaceutical science at Hull, Bristol, Sheffield, Hertfordshire or Leicester University.

She said: "I think the new system is fairer, it gives everybody the opportunity to go to university whatever their background, and I'm really looking forward to it."

James Bissell, 18 a former Barlby High School pupil, is studying a National Diploma in construction, and hopes to go on to study architecture at Newcastle.

He said: "I have wanted to do it for ages, I just like designing buildings and the debt doesn't put me off

Jonathon Balls, 17, an ex-Ryedale School student is doing A-levels in geography, law, government & politics and economics, and has been accepted to study geography at Cambridge.

He said: "It's a subject I've always been interested in and I'm taking a gap year going to India to work on a tree plantation."

Sam Yoshua, 17, is studying A-levels in maths, further maths, chemistry, physics, English language and literature, he has been accepted to study chemistry at Oxford.

"I'd like to stay on to do a PhD because it opens more options in research which sounds interesting to me," he said.

Updated: 11:15 Wednesday, March 29, 2006