IT SEEMS that the much-maligned student layabout – who chooses to lie in rather than attend lectures, then spends all their loan at the pub – is now only the stuff of legend.

They’re still struggling to get to class on time, but these days it’s for very different reasons.

Cash-strapped students are struggling to study as a third work more than 17 hours per week in part-time jobs, a survey by the National Union of Students has revealed.

Nearly half of the university students polled were forced to work to cover their basic living costs, and 45 per cent said holding down a job had a negative impact on their studies.

While a third worked more than 17 hours per week, 3 per cent clocked up more than 33 – almost a full working week.

“It is clear from this report that financial support is inadequate for many students,” says NUS vice president for higher education Aaron Porter.

“With a recession looming and basic living costs set to rise, this situation is going to get even worse.

“Only a few months ago, the first Student Price Index found that inflation is effectively 50 per cent higher for students than for the rest of society – many of them will have to work longer and longer hours just to get by.

“It is particularly worrying that nearly half of those students who work during term time admit that their studies are being adversely affected.

“The NUS would like universities to recognise that many of their students have to work to top up their income, and to make suitable allowances in order to enable them to manage their workload more effectively.”

The poll, funded by HSBC, is part of a three-year research project into students’ experience before, during and after university.

Higher Education Minister David Lammy says the goverment is providing more financial help to students to ensure that anyone who can benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so.

“We have brought back non-repayable grants and greatly expanded the numbers who get them, with about two-thirds of eligible new undergraduates expected to get a grant this year,” he says.

“Together with loans available for tuition fees and living costs and bursaries that universities offer, the improved package of support means nobody should be put off considering higher education for financial reasons.

“All students need the facts about the costs of higher education but the benefits of having a degree should also be made clear.

“Graduates can expect to earn considerably more over their careers than those workers without a degree. The average graduate earns over £100,000 more over their lifetime compared to someone who has A-levels.”

Of the 3,135 students questioned in June this year, about half tended to work in the holidays rather than term time.

The most popular reasons for getting a part-time job were to pay for clothes, holidays and socialising.