SIR – At a National Citizenship Scheme event I asked a group of secondary pupils, who soon may be considering going to university, how many knew that they would not have to pay anything for tuition fees whilst they were studying at university.

Sadly, three years into the new system only two out of 30 young people knew the truth – what are their schools telling them? We must kill the myth that university tuition fees are a barrier to attending university.

There are no fees paid whilst studying, nothing is paid until a graduate earns more than £21,000 and then they are taxed at 9% of every pound over the £21,000. Not a bad deal.

A T&A headline (August 13) “Survey: Fees put students off uni” did not help to dispel the myth.

The article was a very positive piece about the growing popularity of apprenticeships but contrary to the headline, the survey did not provide any evidence that the increased take-up of apprenticeships had anything to do with students being “put off” by university tuition fees.

The headline was simply not true. For the record, applications to university are at a record level and more are from young people from deprived backgrounds.

David Ward MP Bradford East, Killinghall Road, Bradford