St Andrews beats Oxford and Cambridge to top spot in university league table

The elite Oxbridge institutions have dropped out of the top three for only the second time in the UK university guide’s 33-year history.

The rankings show that Oxford fell from fourth to fifth place with Cambridge remaining in fourth place.

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2027 ranked the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in second place, followed by Imperial College London in third.

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St Andrews was ranked the top university in the guide after a strong performance across all league table metrics – including high entry standards.

Zoe Thomas, author of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2027, said the Scottish university has a “distinctive undergraduate experience that translates to superb rates of student satisfaction”.

The guide also named Imperial as University of the Year 2027 after it climbed three places in the rankings from sixth place last year, overtaking both Oxford and Cambridge for the first time.

Ms Thomas said: “The London institution dedicated to Stemmb (science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine) has outdone Oxbridge for the first time in the guide’s 33-year history.

“Its charge up the tightly-packed top ten is immense, powered in part by topping the rankings for research quality and also for graduate prospects which it has topped for the past four consecutive years.”

She added that the performance of Oxford and Cambridge had been hampered by “tepid” feedback from their undergraduates in the National Student Survey – while Imperial, LSE, and St Andrews had found the “sweet spot” of quality research-led teaching that is well-received by their students.

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, said: “From our demanding entry tariffs to the strength of our world-leading teaching and research, through the achievements of our students and graduates to the quality of the professional services which support our academic mission, St Andrews has proved not only that small is beautiful, it can be consistently sector-leading.

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“I hope our community can enjoy this moment. It comes at a time when our universities are facing unprecedented pressure and critique, when the value of higher education is questioned more aggressively than it ever has been, and when the world appears to need, more than ever, the independent, critical thinkers our universities protect, nurture, and refine.”

Helen Davies, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: “What shines through more than ever this year is an emphasis on preparing students for future careers.

“Universities have tailored their campuses to suit hands-on learning with mock court rooms, simulations of clinical settings — some even serve the public — and trading floors.

“But, for this next generation of students and the higher education sector at large, this is a challenging time with institutions struggling with their own finances, and the toughest graduate jobs market in more than a decade.

“There are hard questions to ask: can I afford it? What will I get from a degree? Is it worth it?

“This is where our guide comes in. We are here to help, whether it is about deciding what subject to study, where to go, or how student loans really work.”