If the decision is approved by the school¡¯s council later this month, it would set the LSE apart from the 15 other English members of the Russell Group, all of which have gone for the maximum allowed, ?9,000 a year.

The school¡¯s academic board met today to consider two different fee proposals, with the headline figures of ?8,000 and ?9,000 put to a vote.

Members agreed by a narrow margin to opt for an ?8,000 fee, with 40 per cent of the income over the ?6,000 threshold set aside for bursaries and other measures to widen access among poor students.

However, Times Higher Education understands that both options ¨C an ?8,000 and a ?9,000 fee ¨C will be put to the LSE council later this month.

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The students¡¯ union said that ¡°in the past no academic board decision has ever been overruled by council¡±. The final decision is expected on 25 May.

Of the 91 English institutions to have so far announced their fee plans, 54 have elected to set fees at ?9,000 a year for at least some courses.

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In a second fees announcement today, the University of Westminster said it was planning to charge ?9,000.

john.gill@tsleducation.com