So is it true that Scots are being squeezed out of university places here by students from the rest of the UK as some would have us believe?

Since the publication of Higher results last week the topic has been hotly debated and the flames were fanned further with the issuing of A-level results on Thursday.

Official figures from clearing body Ucas show Scottish universities have recorded a 9% increase in the number of fee-paying students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2013, while the number of Scots going to university here has risen by 2.4%.

According to a press release from the Scottish Conservative Party on Thursday the development "confirmed suspicions that universities are being forced to take on more fee-paying students amid fears over future funding, fuelling concerns that Scottish students are missing out as a result".

But what about the figures behind the headline trends in student flows across the Border? There was no mention of them in the Conservative press release, so here they are.

Ucas said 4700 students from the rest of the UK (rUK) secured a place in Scotland, compared to 4300 on the same day last year. That means there were just 400 extra students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland compared to the previous year. Hardly a stampede. In contrast, the number of extra Scots recruited amounts to 600 with numbers now at 25,550 - the highest figure on record. So the vast majority of students are Scottish and the additional Scottish students recruited this year outnumber the extra English, Welsh and Northern Irish ones.

Another key figure the Conservative Party, and other commentators, have conveniently failed to mention is that numbers of rUK students are still lower than they were in 2009, when 5100 were recruited. So numbers have grown in the past year, but only gradually and not to the height of recent levels when there was no controversy about them.

In fact, the increase in rUK students in Scotland mirrors exactly a 9% rise in student numbers across UK higher education as a whole. So it is not a Scottish phenomenon driven by events here, it is part of a much wider narrative about how the turbulence surrounding the introduction of top-up tuition fees of up to £9000 in 2012 appears to be settling down.

It is good that Scottish universities are increasing the number of Scottish students they recruit, with a particular focus on widening access. It is also good that Scottish universities are able to attract students from south of the Border because the fees of up to £9000 a year they pay helps support the system. It is simply not true that the growth of either group has an impact on the other because they are recruited through an entirely separate process.

The figures show Scots dominate higher education places in Scotland compared to rUK students. And they don't pay tuition fees so graduate with lower levels of debt. If there is any discrimination at work, then it would appear to be in favour of Scots.