TURNER Prize winner and pottery artist Grayson Perry was appointed chancellor of a London university yesterday as education campaigners attacked his support for high fees.

Mr Perry will take up the position as part of the University of the Arts London (UAL) management team on August 1 after having been a governor for the last five years. 

But students from the famed institution were not happy, accusing Mr Perry of voting in favour of tuition fee increases.

Commenting on the announcement UAL students’ union president Shelly Asquith told the Star: “When it comes to student issues, stuff like student fees, he doesn’t really seem to go against the grain. Grayson sided with management to put up foundation, international and postgrad fees this year.”

Ms Asquith did however emphasise that having an artist in the school’s management structure was a great step forward.

Mr Perry, she argued, was better placed to “understand art students” and “the management of an arts university.”

UAL has been plagued by severe funding and departmental cuts in the last decade. The institution, which includes the prestigious Central Saint Martins, has also been embroiled in scandal with several senior managers being sacked for mismanaging the schools’ finances. 

Mr Perry did not seem to mind the university’s recent turmoil and argued he was “delighted, honoured and proud” to take on his new role. 

“I hope to use the position to act as an ambassador and champion of the arts and especially high-quality arts and design education,” he added.

“Being an artist has given me so much, my career, my friends and my sanity, not to mention my wardrobe. Becoming chancellor gives me a platform from which to communicate the great good the arts and especially UAL offers both to individuals and society.”

Central Saint Martins fashion students are asked each year to create a dress for Mr Perry — a project the artist supervises himself.The artist has also delivered high-profile lectures for the university, including BBC Radio 4’s The Reith Lectures in 2013.