With UK tuition fees ready to soar as high as £9,000 a year, school-leavers are choosing to go elsewhere

With more than 2,400 courses available in English in the non-English-speaking parts of Europe, the trend will extend beyond the Netherlands. The universities of Valencia and Milan are also seeing a rise in UK interest. It has traditionally been hard for overseas universities to prise undergraduates out of the UK, but last year a record number, 22,000, were studying for degrees abroad. "The Ucas system in the UK is so stressful and so many people don't get through that it seems really unfair. I like that the Dutch give people a second chance," said Bullock. "If you do badly in your A-levels you can still have a go. In England you just won't go to university if you get a C, which is a bit tough when you are so young.

"Financially it's going to make a big difference to me. I have a cousin doing a master's at Manchester who will leave with £40,000 of debt. I hope to leave with none."