POORER students in England who are in their first year of university could graduate with an average debt of £60,000, a report found today.

Students from lower-income backgrounds have been leaving university with the highest levels of debt since the abolition of maintenance grants in England, charity Sutton Trust said.

Its research, analysed by London Economics, highlighted a “debt gap” at graduation between poorer students – from households with incomes of £25,000 or less – and wealthier students – from households with incomes above £62,000.

The research estimates that poorer students could graduate with £60,100 of debt – £16,500 more than the £43,600 average for those from wealthier families.

Many students from lower-income families are also “struggling financially” with basic living costs as maintenance levels have “failed to rise with inflation,” the Sutton Trust warned.

Full-time students from households with incomes of £25,000 or less can access a maintenance loan of up to £9,978 a year if they are living away from home outside London.

The charity is calling for an increase in the overall amount of maintenance available to students in England to better reflect the living costs they face, as well as the reintroduction of maintenance grants for poorer students, which were abolished in England in September 2016.

Parental income thresholds – used to determine how much support a student can receive – should be increased as these thresholds have been frozen, it said.

“The current student finance system does not work for students from the poorest families and risks locking many out of higher education,” the report concluded.

Sutton Trust founder Sir Peter Lampl called the findings “outrageous” and said: “These students are the most debt-averse, so under the current system this increasingly deters them from going to university.

“All political parties must commit to reintroducing maintenance grants, and overall levels of maintenance should be increased, so that students can meet their basic needs without graduating with excessive debt.

“There’s absolutely no excuse for failing to create a fairer system.”

Universities UK president Professor Dame Sally Mapstone said the report highlights the “urgency of addressing the inadequate maintenance package.”

A Department for Education Spokesperson said the government’s student finance system “ensures that the highest levels of support are targeted at students from the lowest-income families.”