Laura Giannotti , 18, from Wroughton is a sixth-former at the Ridgeway School taking A-level exams in English Literature, RE and French.

She has been offered a place to read English at St John's College, Oxford later in the year, and even with tuition fees of £1,100, she expects university to be a struggle financially.

She said: "My friends and I are concerned about how much it is all going to cost. It won't stop me going but I do think about it.

"I am going to try to work in the summer to save up some money but I've not found a job yet.

"They don't like you having a job while you are at university because the terms are so short."

Laura says that university is a privilege, not a right, and accepts that students must pay for that privilege.

But she fears that if higher fees are introduced more and more people will choose a job over higher education.

She said: "A few friends had second thoughts about going because of the cost, but some of them have changed their minds again and want to go now.

"The student loans system is fair because the repayments are inflation linked, so you pay back what you took out."