Oxford Brookes University has seen a surge in applicants for next year – despite asking for £9,000 a year in tuition fees.

There have been about 22,300 applications for cour-ses at Brookes starting in September 2012, a rise of 4.5 per cent.

UK student applications to Brookes rose three per cent and applications from overseas by 30 per cent.

National figures following the January 15 deadline have not yet been released, but by December 19, admissions service UCAS reported a 6.4 per cent drop in applicants compared to the same time the previous year.

Prof John Raftery, pro vice- chancellor for student experience at Brookes, said: “We are against the trend and the honest answer as to why, is that it is a really complicated picture and it’s very hard to tell.”

In some courses, including clinical healthcare, business and management, education and social work, there were rises of 10 or 11 per cent compared to previous years.

Prof Raftery said: “Brookes is very focused on the professions, like education, which are often seen as a safe port in a storm for a young person in a terrible economy.

“These professions don’t pay much in terms of a salary but you have longevity in the job, and people are worried and concerned about the future so that is a possible explanation.

“We are training hundreds of teachers, nurses and social workers who are often children of local families who then go on to work in the local area.”

He said Brookes was looking to reduce the number of students based in Oxford.

About 1,000 students each year now do foundation degrees in partner institutions including Oxford & Cherwell Valley College and Abingdon and Witney College.

The number of applicants per place is now seven, compared to 5.25 applications per place in 2006/2007.

For social work and public health, law, psychology and sport and health science, there are more than 10 applications per place.

About 2,800 undergraduates are admitted to Brookes each year.

Prof Raftery said: “We are pleased our applications are up, especially because last year they rose 20 to 25 per cent so we didn’t expect another increase.”

He said that degrees at partner colleges were offered with a £6,000 annual tuition fee, with £3.4m worth of bursaries bringing the aver-age cost of a degree down to about £8,000 per year.

The deadline for courses at Oxford University was in October but the university is yet to publish statistics on applications, although UCAS said that across Oxbridge the numbers were broadly the same as the previous year.