The UK's schools are known the world over, and if you're planning a place for your child, now is the time to prepare the visa. Here is my parent's guide to the Child Student visa, from finances to guardianship.

My reading of the latest Home Office figures is stark: for the first time in around two decades, more UK student visas were withdrawn than refused, and grant rates have fallen by roughly a third. Here is what is driving it, and how genuine applicants can still protect their place.

Most UK student visa refusals are not caused by ineligibility -they come down to avoidable mistakes in the paperwork, and those mistakes now cost more than ever. Here is the practical checklist I work through with every student before they submit.