Infographic: How nursing degree applicant figures have fallen since the loss of the bursary

See our infographic demonstrating how the number of nursing degree applicants has fallen across most of the UK since the loss of the student bursary in 2017

The RCN has called for a national campaign to boost the number of nursing student applicants after figures fell for the fourth year running.

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service figures show there were 39,140 UK applicants by the 15 January deadline for 2018 courses.

This is down from 43,590 applicants at the same point last year (2017) and 54,270 in 2016 – when the nursing student bursary was in place. This represents a 33% fall in applicants in two years.

The greatest fall was in England, the only country to abolish the student nursing.