Thousands more students than expected will be affected by the cut to student grants, according to new figures.

An extra 90,000 students will lose out because of a government miscalculation, the Students Loans Company estimates.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) admitted in October that it had underestimated the number of students eligible for a full student maintenance grant and lowered the threshold for receipt of funding for a partial grant by £10,000 - having raised it in July.

It said this would mean 40,000 students starting in 2009 would no longer be able to get any form of maintenance allowance.

But new figures suggest that thousands of prospective students, who are still able to get support, will also have their grants slashed as a result of the mistake.

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Source: The Times Online