international students at uk universities

Most UK universities have special departments to help improve foreign students' English - for example:

Language and study skills | International Student Support | University of Exeter

However, non-UK students are finding the courses very expensive.

One reason is Brexit:

United Kingdom universities could suffer a 25% drop in international students as a result of the government decision to end home student status for them in England, according to a new survey.
Some 84% of prospective European Union (EU) students say they will ‘definitely not’ study in the UK if the decision means their tuition fees will be doubled. In addition, 56% of prospective students say they will be affected by the removal of access to student loans, which was also announced.
The Netherlands and Germany could benefit as the most popular alternative destinations if UK fees become unaffordable.

Most EU students ‘will not study in UK’ after fees decision

Also, "UK universities are businesses and can set international fees as high as they like":

Why are university fees for international students in the UK so expensive, and what are some ways to pay them without being in debt? - Quora

It's not got any better over the last two years:

The UK remains an “attractive place” for international students and that has not changed in the pandemic, but, he said, the offer is there “for the wealthy”

England has world's most expensive university tuition fees

And international students say lockdown learning in their bedrooms is not what they paid for:

'Treated like cash cows': international students at top London universities withhold £29,000 fees | Higher education | The Guardian

UK universities have offered some financial help - but is it enough? 

In 2019/20 there were 538,615 international students studying in the UK - according to Universities UK.
Universities are aware of the problems international students are facing. To help, many are offering to cover the costs of PCR tests and quarantine fees. Some like Sussex and Liverpool are even chartering flights to get students to the UK on time.
Independent think tank HEPI recently found every part of the UK is 'financially better off' - on average by £390 per person - because of international students and the money they bring to the economy. Their analysis shows that just one year's intake of incoming international students is worth £28.8 billion to the UK economy.
Universities UK represent higher education institutions across the UK and say they're aware of the "challenges Covid-19 has presented" and are working to make the lives of international students easier by introducing things like remote learning.

Foreign students struggling to pay for UK university - BBC News

Here's the latest from the E L Gazette:

Possible explanations for why students aren’t necessarily heading to the UK, but still gravitating to foreign universities, are cost and the amount of courses taught in English elsewhere. However, there is some opposition to the numbers of foreign students taking up places that might otherwise go to home-country students, particularly in the Netherlands. To combat the attractiveness of programmes there to overseas students, it has been suggested that there ought to be a limit on the number of courses taught in English. However, as the director of higher education policy at the European University Association, Michael Gaebel, told the THE, “Talking to colleagues in the Netherlands, no one can imagine a future without teaching in English.”

The pull of English going all different ways | E L Gazette

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