ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

They are among the brightest and most promising young people in the country.

But students at Oxford University nevertheless share the gripes of those at higher education establishments the world over.

Undergraduates have complained that they are being given too many essays - with some saying they are expected to write three every week.

They say work loads at the university are unevenly spread as other students on the same courses submit just one essay in the timeframe.

Now, an external review team has recommended that the university puts together specific guidance setting out the number of contact hours and level of assessment students should expect.

Oxford undergraduates are taught using a tutorial style of teaching either individually or in twos or threes by academics who assign them pieces of work.

Students were generally positive about essays and support from tutors but complained of "difference in the workload patterns of students on the same programme in different colleges,” a review team from the independent Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education found.

Oxford student union officer Cat Jones told Times Higher Education magazine that some students were set three essays a week.

She said: "At that point, you are an essay machine. You are meeting deadlines rather than having time to learn and reflect."

An Oxford University spokesman said: "We are already at work on the report's three recommendations, including the provision of more information about the teaching patterns students can expect on each course.

“The QAA commends Oxford on the quality of its student representation on educational matters and we will use these strong links to discuss and respond to workload concerns."