Number of students accepted onto UK nursing programmes ‘worrying’

There has been a small decline in the number of students accepted onto UK nursing programmes compared to last year, latest data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has shown.

A total of 26,315 were accepted onto UK nursing programmes this autumn, down from 26,500 (-0.7%) in 2024.

When broken down across the four nations, the picture is mixed.

In England, there was a slight increase (0.7%) in those accepted onto nursing courses since 2024, with a total of 21,060.

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Northern Ireland also saw a rise, with 840 students accepted – up 8% compared with last year.

However, Wales and Scotland both saw a decline. In Wales there were 1,075 students accepted onto nursing programmes – down 15% on 2024. And in Scotland, there were 3,340 students accepted – down 5%.

In terms of age groups, the number of students aged 25 and above who were accepted onto nursing courses was down 7% in a year period, with 10,670 students for 2025.

Meanwhile, the number of 18-year-olds stands at 7,430 – up 6% on 2024.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) director of England, Patricia Marquis, said encouraging more students into nursing ‘couldn’t be more urgent’.

‘At a time of unprecedented pressure on services, it is worrying to see so few extra people studying nursing this year [in England], and even a decrease in numbers from the UK,’ she added.

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Ms Marquis warned the current education system for nurses ‘isn’t working’ and that it ‘saddles students with debt’.

‘Many graduates enter a career weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scale while working in understaffed overstretched services. We have to do better than this,’ she added.

‘There needs to be proper, joined-up workforce planning across education and health, to make sure we have the right number of nurses in the right places, particularly from the domestic pipeline.’

Action also needs to be taken to ‘keep students on their courses and prevent nurses from being driven away by poor pay and conditions’, said Ms Marquis.

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‘Reforming nursing pay and delivering new investment for nurse education, including loan forgiveness and better financial help during study, is crucial to transforming care and the success of the government’s reforms,’ she added.

The news comes as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is set to consult on a series of changes to student nursing education standards – including reduced programme hours and a new requirement for a community-based placement.