Bright youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds could have up to two years of their university tuition fees paid for them under new plans, the Government has revealed.
Ministers believe that 18,000 students a year could benefit from the scheme, saving up to £18,000 from the cost of their higher education and significantly increasing the numbers of children from poorer families who go to university.
Under the scheme, any student eligible for free school meals who is accepted for a place at university would have one year's fees paid by the state, said a Government source.
Universities which choose to charge more than £6,000 a year in fees - expected to include elite institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge - will be required to fund a further year's tuition for these students.
The state's share of funding for the scheme will be covered by a £150 million National Scholarship Programme announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable when he unveiled the Government's proposals for an increase in the fees cap from £3,375 to £9,000 from 2013.
