The number of students applying for nursing courses in the UK has increased by a third compared to last year, according to data published on Thursday. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on Thursday published data on the full-time undergraduate applications it had received by the January deadline (Jan. 29). Among the 616,360 applicants, almost one in ten (60,130) applied for nursing courses, representing an increase of (32 percent) on last year—16,560 of them are 18-year-old school leavers (up 27 percent on the previous year and record high), and 10,770 are mature students aged 35 and over, a 39 percent jump from 2020. Numbers of nursing applicants across other age groups have also increased, with 30–34-year-old and 25–29-year-old age groups seeing the largest increase, both by 45 percent. Ruth May, chief nursing officer for NHS England said the surge in interest in nursing is “great news” for the public and …