International students are paying an average of £752 a month for privately rented accommodation in London, according to an online room booking service, illustrating the continuing demand for study in the capital in spite of “historically high” expenses.

Average rents in west London (with W postcodes) come in at £880 a month, closely followed by NW postcodes at £860 and SW postcodes at £791, according to the firm Uniplaces.

The cheapest accommodation is in east and south east London, although rent here still averages £704 a month.

Rents in the capital for international students were “historically high”, said Ben Grech, the chief executive of Uniplaces.

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“London is quickly becoming one of the most exciting cities in the world to be a student and so it’s no surprise that the UK is seeing more and more international students moving here to study. “There’s a real desire for students from abroad to be living as centrally as possible, often in zones one or two and particularly to the north and east of the City,” he said.

More than 40 higher education institutions are based in the capital, while 20 UK universities from outside London have set up branch campuses in the city, usually to cater for international students.

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Some 26 per cent of students in London are international, compared to 18 per cent nationally. In 2012-13, there were 101,000 students from outside the European Union living in London.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com