A medical student who was “too clever for jail” is believed to have exploited a loophole in the Oxford University disciplinary process to avoid expulsion, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Lavinia Woodward, a 24-year-old Christ Church student who stabbed her ex-boyfriend in the leg, has been accused of attempting to “set the terms” on whether she will be allowed to return to Oxford.

It has now emerged that Ms Woodward, who was handed a 10-month jail sentence suspended for eighteen months, has now voluntarily suspended her studies for the duration of her sentence.

Due to Oxford’s disciplinary procedures, it means that a staff panel due to decide whether she should be expelled cannot make their ruling until she states her desire to return.