This is among the facts established in new data from by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which show that the proportion who gained a first or upper second ¡°has shown a steady increase from 60 per cent in 2006-07 to 64 per cent in 2010-11¡±.

The figures also show that women scored better than men, with 66 per cent of their first degree classifications being firsts or 2:1s, compared to 61 per cent for men.

The overall number of student enrolments stood at 2,501,295 in 2010-11, according to Hesa, showing no percentage change from the previous year.

Postgraduate enrolments rose 2 per cent between 2009-10 and 2010-11.

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The total number of first year undergraduate enrolments, meanwhile, stood at 1,145,970, a fall of 3 per cent on the year before.

While the number of full-time first-year enrolments showed no percentage change, part-time first-year enrolments fell by 8 per cent.

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That may concern universities with large numbers of part-time students, as many observers believe the higher fee regime to be introduced this autumn will lead to a further fall in part-time numbers.

There was a significant rise in the number of student enrolments from outside the European Union (up 6 per cent), while the number of UK-domiciled students fell from 2,087,615 to 2,073,070, a 1 per cent decrease.

The data also show a sharp increase in the number of students studying wholly overseas for UK qualifications, up from 408,685 to 503,795.

john.morgan@tsleducation.com