The worst Russell Group unis to study at in 2026, according to The Times University Guide

Roll up, roll up. The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 is out. The Times’s new league tables give us new insight into which Russell Group unis are the best and the worst.

The best Russell Group unis aren’t Oxbridge anymore. *Gasp*. For the very first time, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford didn’t make it into the top three unis in The Times’s rankings. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Durham University are apparently better.

The absolute worst Russell Group unis to study it in 2026 is officially Queen Mary University of London. Sorry, guys. The uni’s graduate prospects are the worst of any Russell Group uni, and this dragged down its overall score. Newcastle University and the University of Nottingham weren’t too far behind it, though. Newcastle lost points for the student experience. Notts didn’t do badly in any one area. It just didn’t do exceptionally well in any area, either.

The rankings in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 don’t come out of nowhere. The scores take into account many different factors, such as how much research the uni does, how satisfied students are with their experience, and how sustainable the uni is.

So, here are all the Russell Group unis, ranked from which did the worst to which did the best in The Times’s new university guide. We’ve also included their overall rank in the league table, and their score, so you get a better sense of where how your uni compares to other people’s.

24. Queen Mary University of London

35th overall, scored 672

23. Newcastle University

34th overall, scored 679

22. University of Nottingham

30th overall, scored 710

21. Cardiff University

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=28th overall, scored 712

20. University of Manchester

A rare image of Manchester Uni students not in a bar

27th overall, scored 713

19. University of Leeds

26th overall, scored 720

18. University of Edinburgh

25th overall, scored 725

17. University of Glasgow

22nd overall, scored 735

16. Queen’s University Belfast

21st overall, scored 740

15. University of York

20th overall, scored 742

14. King’s College London (KCL)

19th overall, scored 748

13. University of Liverpool

Ta-da!

18th overall, scored 749

12. University of Southampton

17th overall, scored 763

11. University of Birmingham

16th overall, scored 765

10. University of Exeter

14th overall, scored 790

9. University of Sheffield

13th overall, scored 800

8. University of Bristol

10th overall, scored 814

7. University College London (UCL)

9th overall, scored 837

6. University of Warwick

Uni of Warwick girlies

8th overall, scored 839

5. Imperial College London

6th overall, scored 890

=3. University of Oxford

=4th overall, scored 903

=3. University of Cambridge

=4th overall, scored 903

2. Durham University

3rd overall, scored 906

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

1st overall, scored 1,000

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