London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

UK university students struggle with stress as uncertainty grows over return date

UK university students struggle with stress as uncertainty grows over return date

Failure to include campuses on Covid roadmap is leaving young people ‘in limbo’, say vice-chancellors

The government is putting the mental health and wellbeing of young people at risk by refusing to set a date when students can return to university campuses, university vice-chancellors and students have warned.

Universities still haven’t been told when the government will allow them to resume face-to-face teaching for about 1 million students who have been forced to learn remotely during lockdown.

Vice-chancellors – who spent last month expecting that campuses would be allowed to fully reopen on Monday, at the same time as pubs and gyms – now fear that students are being left out of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, leaving universities “in limbo”.

In a joint letter with the National Union of Students and the mental health charity Student Minds, shared with the Observer today, they call on the government to “make and communicate its decision” in order to provide students with “certainty” and support their health and wellbeing.

Professor Julia Buckingham, vice-chancellor of Brunel University and president of Universities UK, which represents university vice-chancellors, said students who have been learning remotely are being treated “very unfairly” compared with other groups of young people who have been allowed to resume face-to-face learning.

Edinburgh University students protest over lack of support during the pandemic.


“Our students seem to have been left out,” she said. “We’re very concerned about how this is impacting on their mental health and wellbeing. We know many are struggling with financial hardship, because of course there aren’t the part-time jobs they normally have. And there is good evidence that their feelings of isolation and loneliness have increased. This is obviously contributing to their anxiety levels, at this very tense time of year, when everyone’s worried about exams. I feel desperately sorry for students right now.”

She said the way the government has behaved – making no mention of when students could return to universities in its announcements about the loosening of restrictions this week – was “very disappointing”. “I find it quite extraordinary that from Monday we can all go on a self-catering holiday anywhere in England but students can’t return to their own self-catering accommodation.” She pointed out that the reopening of both schools and further education colleges for face-to-face teaching has taken place and was prioritised in the roadmap. “We do feel left behind.”

The government had previously announced it would “review” whether all university students would be allowed back for in-person teaching “by the end of the Easter holidays”. “To me, Easter finished last Monday evening,” said Buckingham. She had been hoping universities would be given a week’s notice by the government that campuses would be allowed to open on 12 April. “Students do need warning if they’re going to come back to campus – they have to book travel arrangements. Staff need warning too. The longer we wait, the more challenging this is for everyone and the less opportunity there will be for students to get the support they need.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government was “committed to getting all students back into university as soon as the public health situation allows”, adding that some students on specific practical and creative courses had started returning to campuses in March.

The Observer understands that a decision on the issue is likely to be announced by the end of this week.

Buckingham urged the government to allow students to return.

“Please bring back students,” she said. “Please recognise the very, very difficult time they’re having and please support them. They have responded to extraordinary challenges over the past 12 months and I think they have been remarkable. I think the government owes it to them, now, to support them in the best way possible – and that is to allow them to come back to campus and get on with their learning.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
×