Flying high: Cambridge scored the maximum possible overall rating Louis Ashworth

The University of Cambridge has expanded its dominance of The Guardian’s league table of UK universities, seizing the top spot for the sixth year in a row, and increasing the number of subject tables it leads to 12.

Cambridge was trailed by Oxford and St Andrews in second and third place, which were followed by a tie for fourth place between Loughborough (climbing seven places this year) and Surrey.

Oxbridge’s dominance of the top of the table was continued from last year. Cambridge received the maximum overall score of 100, followed by the University of Oxford with 95.4.

Cambridge was ranked as the best university in Britain for several subjects, including Medicine, Law and History. The league tables also see Cambridge take second place for studying Politics, behind St Andrews and one ahead of Oxford.

The University of Cambridge scored comparatively lowly for course satisfaction, coming 36th in the table. Oxford came sixth for the same metric.



Guardian rankings – The top five universities in the UK:

1) University of Cambridge

2) Oxford University

3) University of St Andrews

4) University of Surrey/Loughborough University

The Guardian ranks universities based on results acquired from the annual National Student Survey (NSS), according to their the student/staff ratio; spending per student; what grades applicants need to get a place; graduate career prospects; a “value-added” score system which compares entry qualifications with final grades; and finalist satisfaction rates.

The table is noted for placing a strong emphasis on student experience, with no weighting given for quality of research.

Cambridge scored highly in ratings for student satisfaction, staff-to-student ratios and graduate prospects.

Research for the table found that 89.6 per cent of Cambridge students are employed within six months of leaving University – second only to Imperial College London, where 90.1 per cent have careers within the same time frame.

It follows the announcement that Cambridge topped the Complete University Guide rankings this year, also for the sixth time in a row.