Following the news that employers fear a rise in alcohol-related sickies when 24-hour licensing laws are introduced, reports that UK students’ bar tab is pushing £1 billion will do little to calm the nerves.



The research was carried out by the Royal Bank of Scotland and published in the Student Living Index, designed to show which University towns offered the best value to students.



A by-product of this valuable exercise was establishing that the nation’s students spend £940 million a year on socialising (read drink), a cumulative expenditure second only to rent payments (£2.5 billion).



The fact that students spend around three times less (£330 million) on books and other course materials is a further indictment on their spending habits! Even the food bill (£670 million) falls well short of the money spent on the UK’s favourite pastime.



The good news is that the student population is becoming increasingly industrious in order to pay for their extra-curricular activities. To help pay for it all, 40 per cent will work part-time to earn extra cash, usually in restaurants and bars.



The survey ranked cities by offsetting living costs with earning potential from part-time work. Glasgow holds the top spot as the most cost-effective university city, whilst Durham is the most expensive.



Andrea Aitken-Paige, Head of Student Banking at RBS comments:



“We hope that the Royal Bank’s student living index will provide another useful tool for prospective students when choosing their university. If you are concerned about the potential cost of student living, for example, our research suggests that going to Glasgow could save you up to £1,000 a year compared to other university towns.”