More universities to charge maximum fees ...

Almost three-quarters of universities in England are planning to charge the maximum £9,000 tuition fee for some or all of their courses, according to Office for Fair Access (OfFA) figures.  The average fee level for 2014-15 will rise by about £150 to about £8,650.  However, the total amount to be spent on supporting poorer students will also rise to £708m, up from £672m.  OfFA's report says that 26% of this higher fee income will be spent on protecting fair access to university.  More money will be spent on outreach projects, where universities build links with schools and young people to encourage them to think about applying to university.  Further information and analysis by the BBC can be found here.