Oxfordshire University students working more to cover bills and rent
We’ve been speaking to one Oxford Brookes student who works 50-hours per week.
Last updated 28th Aug 2024
Many more university students across Oxfordshire are working longer part-time hours to cover soaring costs.
It comes as new research from NatWest has found that students in Oxford spend the third highest amount on their food shops in the UK, at just under £150 per month.
The price of rent is also considerably higher than the UK average, whilst it has increased by 17% nationally since 2023.
The bank also found that students working in part-time jobs has risen by 154%, and one student says that working whilst studying has had an impact on her studies.
Adrianna Padjas is a full-time student at Oxford Brookes who works around 50 hours per week at a shop.
She said: “I’ve definitely missed a few 9am lectures and so have my friends, they sometimes fall asleep in our lectures.
“I know I can get a better grade if I’m only one hundred percent focused on my degree”.
Household bills are now the second biggest spend for students in the UK, with the average bill costing £157.78, which has increased by 358% since 2023.
Adrianna told us that she needed to work to pay for food, bills, and rent, whilst keeping some money to enjoy herself.
However, working so many hours during the week has left her not being able to do some of the things that she wants, as it has not only been impacting her impacting her university work, but socially as well.
She said: “There’s times where you don’t know what day of the week it is and I’m just existing.
“You don’t have the energy to interact with your friends and family. Sometimes my mum calls me and says ‘I haven’t seen you in three weeks’ and I’m just sorry.
“When my friends want to go out and do something really fun I don’t have the energy.”
Working around 50-hours whilst being a full-time student going into the university campus has meant that Adrianna often only gets around five hours of sleep.
She said: “I’m always tired. I’m always yawning, and I’ve got eyebags, but my body has got used to getting five and sometimes less hours of sleep. It’s because I’m usually up at night getting my assignments and reading for university done.”
The Christmas period is one of the busiest times for any student, but especially for Adrianna as it is also the busiest time for her job.
She told us that there was a point where she had four assignments a week with over 1,000 words due for each.
“The last few weeks of university they throw assignments at you one after the other.
“It’s very overwhelming and that was probably a time when all we weren’t sleeping at all and was drinking was red bull and coffee, as that’s all you can do”.