University rankings

Oxford tops the Russell Group for teaching quality at 94.4 per cent – while Newcastle scores lowest at 85.6 per cent, a gap of 8.8 percentage points, according to the National Student Survey 2026

Oxford topped the table at 93.5 per cent for academic support, while KCL scored lowest at 87.4 per cent, a gap of 6.1 percentage points, according to the National Student Survey 2026

Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham and Liverpool all score below Aberdeen and Strathclyde for law – despite all four being Russell Group universities, according to the Complete University Guide 2027

Liverpool ranks third for learning resources ahead of Warwick and Imperial, while Glasgow scores lowest of any Russell Group university at 86.7 per cent in the National Student Survey 2026

Southampton saw the biggest fall in applicants of any Russell Group university in the 2025 UCAS cycle, with a 2.6 per cent decrease – while Exeter saw the biggest rise at 15.5 per cent

Imperial College London jumped from 82.4 to 86.7 per cent in one year – while Edinburgh scored lowest of any Russell Group university at 79.4 per cent in the National Student Survey 2026

Birmingham leads the Russell Group for organisational management at 87 per cent – while Oxford scores just 73 per cent, the lowest of any Russell Group university in the National Student Survey 2026

Durham leads the Russell Group for assessment and feedback at 82.4 per cent – while Edinburgh scores just 72.6 per cent, the lowest of any Russell Group university in the National Student Survey 2026

Ulster University topped the rankings overall while 15 Russell Group universities, including Cambridge, Manchester and Durham failed to make StudentCrowd’s top 20 for value for money

Passport numbers and financial information were among details exposed in Nottingham’s 2026 attack – whilst Warwick kept data breach secret from its own students