Here’s exactly where each Russell Group uni ranked in the Complete University Guide for 2026

The Russell Group unis are supposed to be the most prestigious and academic unis the UK has to offer. The new Complete University Guide for 2026 has come out, so here’s a look at where each Russell Group uni actually ranked. Some Russell Group unis didn’t even make the top 30 this year. Ouch.

The University of Manchester sunk six places in the league table. UCL and Liverpool dropped four whole spots, and Edinburgh dropped three. However, it wasn’t all bad news. King’s went up five places. Queen Mary is still the worst ranked Russell Group uni, but it did leap up nine places in the league table. Yay for Queen Mary.

Oxbridge topped the Complete University Guide yet again. Wow, how original. The University of Cambridge just beat the University of Oxford. The University of Cambridge spent way more money on academic services and facilities, and this really boosted the uni’s overall score.

You can read more about how the Complete University Guide comes up with the league tables here. Basically, they analyse a load of data on how much research the university does, what the prospects are for grads, and how satisfied students are with the teaching.

So, here’s exactly where all the Russell Group unis ranked this year on the Complete University Guide for 2026.

41. Queen Mary University of London

=31. Newcastle University

=31. University of Glasgow

28. University of Manchester

26. University of Nottingham

I’m convinced all Notts students spend more time in Ocean than in the library

24. Queen’s University Belfast

23. University of Liverpool

22. Cardiff University

21. University of Leeds

19. King’s College London (KCL)

18. University of Edinburgh

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17. University of Southampton

16. University of Sheffield

15. University of Bristol

14. University of Birmingham

13. University College London (UCL)

12. University of York

11. University of Exeter

Your daily reminder that Exeter Uni is super close to this gorgeous beach

9. University of Warwick

6. Imperial College London

5. Durham University

3. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

2. University of Oxford

1. University of Cambridge

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