FOR most British youngsters, Australia and New Zealand are unbeatable places to while away a gap year. But now increasing numbers are being lured Down Under to further their education.

Since 2002 the number of British students seeking to study at under and postgraduate level there has risen by more than a third, with more than 6,250 studying there last year alone.

This year, as 53,000 students look unlikely to gain places at British universities, five leading antipodean institutions are offering scholarships to encourage them to look farther afield.

Sports sciences, health sciences and Asian studies have attracted British students in the past, but now people who want to study medicine or veterinary science but have failed to gain a place at a university in Britain are considering the move, says Kathleen Devereux, from the Australian Trade Commission.

“You’d think of the UK market as being a fairly mature market, but we have had 12 per cent year-on-year growth from 2002 to 2005, which is extraordinary,” she said.

With Australian fees averaging between £4,800 and £10,000 a year, payable each term, the courses are more expensive than those in England, which has £3,000 fees payable on graduation. Fees for degrees in medicine, dentistry and veterinary sciences are higher still.

But with lower living costs, a strong pound, and thirteen Australian and three New Zealand universities in the world top 200 universities, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement, they are a big draw.

“Tuition fees bring into parity the cost of going to a British or Australian university at undergraduate level. The fees in Australia are higher, but the living expenses are much less, so it’s an attractive alternative,” Ms Devereux said.

Of the 3,888 British students in Australia last year, more than half were undergraduates. By June this year 3,328 students had registered.

The number of British students at New Zealand universities, has increased from 1,718 in 2002 to 2,404 last year. For Kejal Patel, 22, from Charlton, South London, fees were not the only issue. After graduating from the University of Westminster with a 2:1, she wanted to study for a doctorate in clinical psychology, but struggled to find the work experience to secure a place.

Now she hopes to study at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and return home a chartered clinical psychologist in half the time. The qualification is accredited by the Australian Psychological Society and recognised in Britain. “It’s really exciting, the standards are very good and it’s based on a British education system, so I feel that I would slot in really well,” Ms Patel said. “It’s also a really dynamic vibrant country.”

Facing costs up of to £45,000 for a two-year degree, Ms Patel expects to work part-time, and has applied for a graduate scholarship for UK residents to study in Australia. The Northcote scholarship is one of several on offer from a number of universities.

For those put off by the higher fees, Carmel Murphy, who looks after international students at Melbourne University, suggests applying for an exchange year.

“It’s very popular with the students, because the way it works students pay the same fees at their own universities for the year but have a taste of the Melbourne experience,” she said.

Details of scholarships can be found on www.studyoptions.com

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