A UK university has been ordered to pay a student £5,000 in compensation for lost teaching time during the first lockdown according to a complaints watchdog.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) released a number of complaints students made about the impact of Covid on their studies including concerns over disrupted learning, accommodation and missed practical elements of courses.

The cases show the “complex situations” the pandemic brings.

In 2020, the OIA received 2,604 complaints, 500 of which related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the complainants was an international medical student who had been studying at an undisclosed university and paying course fees of £38,000.

The student was awarded £5,000 after the university stopped all clinical placements as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the individual had lost out on practical experience.

The OIA is an independent body that reviews student complaints about universities and other higher education providers in England and Wales under the Higher Education Act 2004.