Spiralling numbers of youngsters wanting to study at Essex University is forcing the institution to expand.

An application to build 80 new offices and new seminar rooms at the Wivenhoe Park site, near Colchester, has now been lodged with Colchester Council.

The reason for the planned building work is the growing popularity of the university with degree-seekers.

Applications to the university, which is ranked as the 25th best in the country, increased by a massive 18.5 per cent last year.

The rise - 7,300 compared with 6,121 the previous year - bucks a national trend which has seen applications for degree courses slip by 2.5 per cent.

Andrew Nightingale, spokesman for the university's estates team, said the planned extension would provide vital extra space for a number of departments.

Under the scheme, history and accounting departments would be moved into the new building, allowing other departments to spread out and have more room.

He said work might begin during Easter next year, with the history and accounting departments moving in to the new building during the following year.

"It is part of the ongoing expansion of the university, we are in a period of growth," said Mr Nightingale.

Plans to boost the student base by up to a third were unveiled earlier this year by vice-chancellor Professor Ivor Crewe.

Essex's 6,000-strong student population makes it one of the smallest non-specialist universities in the land.

Typical British universities have 9,000 students, and increasing Essex to that scale would mean it could cope better with government funding cuts and widen the scope of its initiatives.

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