STUDENTS at the region’s leading university are being offered an escape route from £9,000-a-year fees under a groundbreaking scheme.

Accountancy firm KPMG, which recently recorded a £1.6bn annual turnover, will pay the fees of 75 young people to study for a degree in accounting at Durham University, and will offer a starting salary of £20,000 a year when they graduate.

The students, who will spend part of their time working for KPMG in Newcastle, are expected to earn salaries of £45,000 a year or more if they finish the full six-year course.

The company predicted the scheme could eventually take most of the 400 chartered accountant places it offers every year, attracting talented youngsters who may be turned off university by the high levels of debt they could run up.

Mick Thompson, a senior partner in KPMG in Newcastle, said: “We are really excited about this scheme, which we think is genuinely groundbreaking.

“This scheme will address current concerns around how students can meet the costs of university, making degrees and professional qualifications available to a broader socio-economic group.

“It is excellent to have developed this scheme with Durham University, a World Top-100 university, just down the road from us.”

That message was echoed by Professor Chris Higgins, the vice-chancellor of Durham University, who said the scheme would benefit young people who might not normally study at Durham University.

He said: “They can gain a rigorous academic degree from one of the world’s leading universities and business schools and, at the same time, gain employment with KPMG, one of the world’s blue-chip employers.”

The school leavers’ programme will begin this September – a year before student fees controversially rise to up to £9,000 annually, compared with a cap of £3,290.

Critics have argued the huge rise will lead to many young people, particularly those from poorer backgrounds, turning their backs on a university education.

The scheme was announced in the Commons by Universities Minister David Willetts, who said: “This is an excellent example of the type of initiative that we want to see.”