Further education students in England hit by ‘extreme poverty’, report finds

Of those surveyed for the report, 72% said they were facing costs that were putting them in financial difficulty. Photograph: rkm-education/Alamy

Further education students in England are struggling in “extreme poverty”, forced to work excessive hours in insecure jobs to support themselves and their families and falling behind with their studies as a result, according to a report.

FE colleges say they are seeing students in “financial desperation”, often dressed in the same clothes for days on end and struggling at home where family tensions and domestic abuse are on the increase during the cost of living crisis.