60k students will receive grants this year

An estimated 60,000 student grants will be awarded for this academic year, the body responsible claims.

The student grants awarding body SUSI says 39,000 grants have already been paid, from the 43,000 awarded to date.

"The SUSI grant scheme is going extremely well," said spokesperson Caroline Erskine, who claimed the remaining 4,000 unpaid grants "will be paid as soon as their colleges confirm that they are registered and attending."

Two-thirds of the grants being awarded are to new applicants.