Research by Unite Students, and carried out by Opinium, polled 500 students and 500 parents from the UK for their thoughts on COVID-19, student safety and returning to university, ahead of the start of the next academic year.

Almost nine in ten (89%) students are keen to get on campus once it is safe to do so and 79% of students say living away from home and being on campus is as important a part of their university experience as lectures and tutorials. But students are concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on their time at university - 91% are worried about disruption to studies, while 79% are concerned about the impact on socialising.

Also, while 94% of current students have been asked to do remote learning, only 14% prefer this way of studying. However, there’s a huge amount of trust in universities: 86% of students place their trust in universities to provide the necessary measures to keep them safe.

Commenting on the survey results, Richard Smith, chief executive at Unite Students, said: “A university education has the power to positively transform lives. The results from this survey confirm that the social skills and independence that university provides are hugely valued by students.”