I did some more research and found that for international students at least, Lloyds TSB had the best offer. some banks, like Barclays or Natwest have accounts specifically made for international students, but you have to pay a monthly fee. There are no other banks to my knowledge which offer "student" accounts to international students, as you almost always have to have been 3yrs resident in the UK to be eligible. But in Lloyds TSB, you get, like some other person said before, a visa debit card which is like accepted pretty much anywhere, be it shops or internet, and you dont have to pay a monthly fee. Its not a "student account" you can open at Lloyds, but still a very good offer for int. students I think.