Did COVID-19 lockdowns spoil your university experience? More than 170,000 current and former students are now taking legal action.
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Overview
Students pay universities for in-person tuition and access to facilities. However, Covid led to cancelled classes, online learning, and restricted services, so many students didn’t get the experience they signed up for.
Universities did not refund affected students for the disruption, and lawyers think this is a breach of contract. They believe students deserve compensation for the gap between the traditional university experience they paid for and the online courses they received.
In early 2026, UCL reached a confidential settlement with students and graduates who brought legal action over the quality of teaching during the Covid lockdowns. The university admitted no liability, but the deal marked a significant moment in a long-running dispute.
And it may not be the end of the story as a further 36 universities have now received formal pre-action letters from lawyers acting for more than 170,000 current and former students.
We are monitoring the situation closely. Register your interest and we’ll keep you updated if one of our regulated UK partner law firms is able to take this claim forward.
Covid breach of contract – At a glance
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February 2026
University College London (UCL) reached a no-liability settlement with graduates and students who had launched legal action over teaching quality during strikes and Covid lockdowns. Following the settlement, students launched Covid compensation claims against 36 further universities.
April 2025
The BBC covered the COVID-19 claims. One student said: "We're talking about nine grand a year to sit at home, log onto a laptop, go on for an hour and read a word document."
July 2024
The trial for students suing UCL over Covid teaching was set for early 2026. Around 5,000 students have brought claims against the university.
July 2023
A judge ordered a stay of proceedings, encouraging students and UCL to enter mediation to reach a settlement out of court. Judge Barbara Fontaine said some of the claimants’ concerns were “valid”, and ruled that students could sue UCL unless it paid compensation over Covid disruption.
May 2023
A legal action against UCL (University College London) was first heard in court. Lawyers claimed that, between 2018 and 2022, the university did not provide the service that students paid tuition fees for, and was therefore in breach of contract.
We’ll provide more updates on this case as they happen.
Were you a student in the 2020-21 academic year, and was your university experience ruined by lockdowns? Register to stay updated, and we’ll let you know if a partner law firm takes this claim forward.
The case involves students claiming compensation for breaches of contract by universities due to disruptions caused by Covid-19. Students paid for in-person tuition and access to facilities, but many received online classes and restricted services instead, which legal experts argue violates the terms of their contracts. Despite these disruptions, universities did not refund affected students.
The institutions that have received pre-action letters include:
Imperial College London
King’s College London
University of Manchester
University of Leeds
University of Bristol
University of Warwick
University of Southampton
University of Nottingham
University of Sheffield
University of York
And many others across England and Wales.
A group action claim allows people affected by the same issue to take action together. This strength in numbers helps stand up to big organisations. Join the Claim helps connect people with law firms so these actions have real impact.
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