Cecily Winter is having to pay tuition and accommodation fees while getting nothing in return

A top university has broken ranks and set up a fund to compensate students whose classes and lectures are being cancelled because of a strike by academics over proposed cuts to pensions.

The move comes as the strike across more than 60 universities enters its third week. If talks aimed at resolving the dispute fail, it is feared the walkout will drag into the summer, disrupting crucial exams and leading to papers not being marked.

King’s College London said it was saving money from striking lecturers’ salaries to refund students. “Once the nature and scale of disruption has become clearer, we will develop a mechanism for considering cases for any further compensation that may be warranted in light of cancelled classes,” King’s said.

Until now,