Foreign students as young as five seeking admission to schools in the UK are being asked if they are terrorists as part of a new visa system, which has sparked an outrage and risked driving away thousands of overseas pupils from the country.

Pupils applying to schools in Britain are being asked if are terrorists or have been involved in war crimes or genocide under the new Home Office regulations that came into force last month, the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday.

In the 57 page document that foreign students are made to fill, the pupils are asked: “Has the applicant ever been involved in, supported or encouraged terrorist activities in any country?”

It adds “Has the applicant ever, by any means or medium, expressed views that justify or glorify terrorist violence or that may encourage others to terrorist acts or other serious criminal acts?”

Educationists warned that the new regulation risked driving away some of the 20,000 overseas pupils studying in Britain.

Some are already believed to have been rejected, the report said.

The Liberal Democrats said it could jeopardise Britain’s position as one of the most popular destinations for youths studying overseas - costing schools thousands in lost revenue.

“These visa forms are clearly lacking a degree of common sense,” David Laws, the Lib Dem schools spokesman, was quoted as saying by the British daily.