While there is “always a bit of a rush as we come to the end of a cycle”, there has been a noticeable surge in applications from overseas students recently, London Metropolitan‘s deputy vice-chancellor Gary Davies said.

Davies was “happy to say we have received a real rush of approximately 1,000 applications in last couple of weeks”, he exclusively told The PIE last week (August 9).

“This activity feels more significant [than usual] because of the dip in activity earlier in the cycle, of course though the challenge will be to get them through the admissions and compliance cycle in time to start in September,” he added.

He suggested that London Metropolitan’s “tactics” to recruit more international students – such as scholarships and deposits – had contributed to the increase in applications.

“But [we] also hope that this is the early signs of the recovery our recruitment partners have been talking about for the spring,” he said.

Our recruitment partners certainly feel that as our competitors are discussing caps and restrictions that the spring should see more positive news

Gary Davies, London Metropolitan University

“We are hopeful that as international students are being more positively welcomed by the new government that we will be able to return to more sustainable numbers going forward. Our recruitment partners certainly feel that as our competitors are discussing caps and restrictions that the spring should see more positive news.”

The UK last month welcomed a new Labour government into power after 14 years under Conservative rule. During that time, the government’s rhetoric towards international students had become increasingly hostile, culminating in a review into the Graduate Route and a ban on overseas undergraduate students being able to bring dependents into the country with them.

The new education secretary Bridget Phillipson has repeatedly said that overseas students would find a “welcome” home in the UK under the Labour government.

Most recently, she made a video message for prospective students from overseas, where she explained the benefits of the Graduate Route and lauded the British education system.