The age-old perception that students will be lazing around during the summer holidays is no more according to a new survey.

As the university year ends, 80% of undergraduates plan to take holiday jobs, earning them almost £1 billion, according to a study by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

And a shrewd 75% of students say they will use their holiday money to fund term-time living costs.

The survey of first and second-year undergraduates across the UK found that 62% of those planning to work hoped to be employed full-time.

Savvy Scottish students top the list of those planning holiday work, with those from St Andrew's (92%) and Edinburgh (91%) being the most likely to take a summer job.

The average undergraduate expects to earn £1,568 over the summer vacation - enough to cover almost nine weeks of the average student's term-time social and accommodation costs.

Glasgow and Southampton students anticipate topping the earnings league with a predicted summer income of £1,931 and £1,778 respectively.

According to the research, the most popular holiday jobs are short-term money-spinners such as bar and restaurant work (23%) and retail work (16%).

However, other students opting to give up their summer break in favour of a healthy bank balance are considering all options.

The study suggests that about 110,000 plan to do some form of office-based professional work, 5,500 want to teach, 2,000 will guide tours, 1,500 will be bookmakers and 1,000 will patrol the beaches as lifeguards.

More than a third of students (39%) said the importance employers placed on work experience was another consideration when deciding to take a summer job.

While the research found that most vacation work would be paid, more than 9,500 British students will opt for unpaid work experience.