The Times Good University Guide 2026 is out, and Oxbridge aren’t the best UK unis anymore

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 is out. That’s the oldest UK uni league table that’s still published, and the one your grandparents probably get the most competitive about. The Times Good University Guide 2026 is really surprising this year, because for the first time in 32 years, Oxbridge aren’t in the top three *gasps*.

The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford came in joint fourth place in The Times and The Sunday Times’s overall ranking. Durham University shot up two places in the ranking and knocked Oxbridge down. The Times also dished out the title “University of the Year 2026” to Durham. The University of St Andrews stayed in second place. According to The Times and The Sunday Times, the best uni in the UK is the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Presumably, Oxbridge professors are all clutching their pearls and fainting right now.

Durham students can feel super smug right now

A really random uni outside of the Russell Group did super well in The Times’s ranking this year. The University of Strathclyde only came 20th last year, but it flew up to 11th place this year. Lots of Strathclyde students got great UCAS scores, and landed grad jobs within 15 months of leaving. This helped Strathclyde soar up the league table. Yay for them.

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide is based on plenty of factors, such as how many students get firsts, how many get jobs or start further studies, and how many drop out.

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So, here are the 20 best unis in the UK, according to The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026:

20. University of York

19. King’s College London (KCL)

18. University of Liverpool

17. University of Southampton

16. University of Birmingham

15. Lancaster University

14. University of Exeter

At least Exeter is near the beach?

13. University of Sheffield

12. Loughborough University

11. University of Strathclyde

10. University of Bristol

9. University College London (UCL)

8. University of Warwick

7. University of Bath

The Uni of Bath doesn’t look great, but it has done great in the league tables this year

6. Imperial College London

=4. University of Oxford

=4. University of Cambridge

3. Durham University

2. University of St Andrews

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

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