The University of Suffolk has said it is bucking the national trend after the number of would-be students applying to UK universities dropped.

A total of 564,190 people had applied to UK universities and colleges by January 15 – the main deadline for submitting applications. This is a fall of 5% (29,530 students) compared to the same point in 2016.

A spokesman for the University of Suffolk, which became fully independent and was renamed last summer, said applications for their September intake was “up compared to others”. Figures were not available.

Karen Hinton, head of student recruitment and market development, added: “Unlike other universities, we haven’t experienced the ‘Brexit effect’ as our numbers of EU students are continuing to grow and have been year-on-year.”

She reported a “slight decline” in nursing applications due to bursary changes, but added: “As we only have a certain number of places on our health courses, we’re confident we will fill them.”