The number of students taking undergraduate courses in 2007 in planning rose by 14.8% from 2006, and by 10.3% for civil engineering according to UCAS figures released on January 17.
The higher numbers for planning and civil engineering outshines the 5.8% rise in the total number of students accepted onto all undergraduate courses in 2007. The number of architecture students increased by 4.3%.

The increase in construction and built environment students was greeted by ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council for the industry as a much-needed boost for the sector.

'These figures are great news for the construction industry, and for the economy as a whole, because we need the brightest and the best coming into the industry in order to deliver the huge amount of building and infrastructure projects that the government has planned' said Paul Sykes, head of recruitment and careers at ConstructionSkills.

The 2012 Olympics is just one of the government's plans which the construction industry must help realise on top of meeting the UK's housing, repair and maintenance needs.

Sykes said 'Construction has traditionally suffered from a poor image, but we have tried to show young people and their parents that it is an exciting career choice, offering excellent prospects and a variety of careers for a diverse range of applicants, and the news from UCAS today shows that this work has paid off'.