Russell Group unis let in far more students than they used to – here’s which grew the most

On A-Level Results Day 2026, 388,530 applicants got into the uni they set as their first choice on UCAS. That’s more than ever before. Far more students are getting places at Russell Group universities than they were a decade ago. Here’s a closer look at how many more undergraduate students were accepted by Russell Group unis in the 2025 admissions cycle, compared to in the 2016 admissions cycle.

This data all comes from UCAS. Approximately a third of Scottish students don’t apply through UCAS (and so aren’t included in these stats) but pretty much everybody else does.

So, here are the Russell Group universities ranked by how much bigger they’ve got over the last decade:

24. University of Sheffield – 1.6 per cent decrease

5,985 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 5,890 in 2025.

23. University of Oxford – 1.4 per cent increase

3,295 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 3,340 in 2025.

22. Cardiff University – 9.3 per cent increase

A happy-looking Cardiff grad

6,775 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 7,405 in 2025.

21. University of Cambridge – 9.4 per cent increase

3,445 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 3,770 in 2025.

20. Newcastle University – 9.8 per cent increase

6,175 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 6,780 in 2025.

19. University of Glasgow – 13.6 per cent increase

5,600 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 6,360 in 2025.

18. University of Nottingham – 14.2 per cent increase

7,540 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 8,610 in 2025.

17. Queen’s University Belfast – 15.4 per cent increase

Queens University Belfast’s very Instagrammable building

4,435 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 5,120 in 2025.

16. University of Southampton – 17.2 per cent increase

5,360 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 6,280 in 2025.

15. Queen Mary University of London – 19.2 per cent increase

4,965 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 5,920 in 2025.

14. University of Manchester – 23.9 per cent increase

8,705 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 10,785 in 2025.

13. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – 26.8 per cent increase

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1,625 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 2,060 in 2025.

12. University of Edinburgh – 29.3 per cent increase

Edinburgh looking cute

6,250 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 8,080 in 2025.

11. University of Leeds – 31.9 per cent increase

7,390 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 9,750 in 2025.

10. University of Birmingham – 35.5 per cent increase

6,400 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 8,670 in 2025.

9. Imperial College London – 37.3 per cent increase

2,545 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 3,495 in 2025.

8. King’s College London – 39.4 per cent increase

6,010 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 8,375 in 2025.

7. University of Liverpool – 43.0 per cent increase

5,995 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 8,575 in 2025.

6. University of Warwick – 45.1 per cent increase

5,070 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 7,355 in 2025.

5. University of Bristol – 47.8 per cent increase

Bristol Uni students making themselves at home

5,530 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 8,175 in 2025.

4. University of York – 52.5 per cent increase

4,525 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 6,900 in 2025.

3. Durham University – 53.0 per cent increase

4,475 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 6,845 in 2025.

2. University of Exeter – 53.0 per cent increase

5,960 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 9,120 in 2025.

1. University College London (UCL) – 105.2 per cent increase

5,590 undergrads were accepted in 2016, 11,470 in 2025.

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