How do student tuition and maintenance loans work?

How do student tuition and maintenance loans work?36 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHazel ShearingEducation correspondentGetty ImagesInterest on some student loans in England will be capped at 6% in the 2026-27 academic year.Students and graduates in England have different loan plans depending on when and what they studied, and the cap will only apply to Plan 2 loans and Plan 3 postgraduate loans from September.Plans also vary across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but most people still have to borrow to pay for their studies and the average graduate now leaves university with debts of about £53,000.What are Plan 2 loans and what has changed? Students who took out a loan in England to start university between September 2012 and July 2023 have a Plan 2 loan. These loans are still issued in Wales.Graduates with Plan 2 loans pay back 9% of everything they earn over the repayment threshold.In the November 2025 Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the threshold would be frozen at £29,385 between 2027 and 2030, rather than rising with inflation.That means students will start repaying their loans sooner than they would otherwise have done, and their rising salaries will lead to greater repayments.Campaigners want to see that change reversed, and for the government to consider a lower repayment rate and a lower interest rate.Currently, Plan 2 loans take on interest at the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, plus up to 3% depending on earnings.It means many graduates with Plan 2 loans have struggled to make a significant dent in the overall debt they left university with, which is often in the tens of thousands of pounds, despite making repayments for several years.Currently the maximum interest you can accrue on Plan 2 is 6.2%. It will be capped at 6% in England in the 2026-27 academic year.Plan 2 student loan interest rates capped at 6% in EnglandHow do student loans work now?Plan 2 loans have been replaced in England by the current Plan 5...