Student numbers at the county's biggest university have taken another downward turn - despite the campus being buoyed by an increase in new arrivals.

This month, the University of East Anglia welcomed almost 7,000 new arrivals - an 11pc increase in the number it greeted the previous September.

However, its overall student numbers have taken a tumble, with fresher numbers unable to cancel out departures.

Eastern Daily Press: University of East Anglia campus

For the 2023/24 academic year, 12,401 undergraduate students will be taught at the university - more than 1,000 fewer than the previous year.

The figure is a drop of almost 7pc from the 13,324 undergraduates attending in 2022/23 and a decrease of almost 10pc compared with 2021/22.

However, officials at the university say the rise in new freshers is a cause for optimism at the troubled campus.

A spokesman for the UEA said: "We have already seen a significant increase in registrations for our undergraduate open days for 2024 courses compared to previous years and we anticipate increasing the number of first degree students.

"We are very positive about the figure - it is great to see our campus buzzing with new and returning students ready for the academic years."

Eastern Daily Press: Mark Walmsley, of the UEA branch of the UCUMark Walmsley, of the UEA branch of the UCU (Image: Mark Walsley)

Mark Walmsley, secretary of the UEA branch of the University and College Union, said the institution may still be suffering from failures to adapt to changing demand for higher education.

He said that while reduced student numbers is a sector-wide issue, the UEA needed to have a clear idea of the type of students it wants to attract.

He said: "The UEA is not quite clear where it stands in challenging student markets.

"It needs a proper strategy about how it is going to market itself.

"What we want is a vision for the university to put it back where it should be in terms of attracting students."