Dealing with homesickness is part of freshers’ week

More than half of university students experience homesickness, so you're not alone if you're missing home

Advice for students: how to concentrate

From smartphone apps that eliminate distractions to choosing the right place to study, Oliver Burkeman suggests five ways to work efficiently

Student health: when should you go to the doctor?

If you get ill at university your parents won't be there to take you to the GP. Here a doctor shares tips on how to look after your own healthcare at university

Students are sleeping in bedrooms that contain asbestos

Substance is harmless if undisturbed, but students are not warned that it is present in their rooms

How university stopped me hating my face

I was trapped in self-loathing and thought I was hideous, writes a student blogger. University life changed the way I saw myself and the world

Should schools ban packed lunches? We ask school cooks, pupils and parents

Headteachers in England are being urged to ban packed lunches to ensure children eat healthy school dinners. What do school cooks, children and their parents think of the proposal?

Students: could you turn flexitarian?

Cash-strapped students are turning into part-time vegetarians to help save money and the environment. Could you survive a whole term without meat?

Students stay silent about mental health problems, survey shows

One in five suffer psychological ill health, but most shun university counselling

Technology makes higher education accessible to disabled students

Sponsor's feature: Instead of lugging heavy textbooks about, disabled students now have the option of e-textbooks that present content in a variety of ways to suit the reader

Students and depression: the struggle to survive

The parents of two young men who took their own lives call for greater support for students who are struggling to cope. Simon Hattenstone reports