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🎓 Top Universities in the United Kingdom

UK universities by the average of their positions in the three main national league tables (lower is better).

📅 2026📏 average league-table position125 entries🇬🇧 See all of this country’s rankings →
Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (average league-table position); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.
1
St Andrews
2.3
2
Cambridge
2.7
3
Oxford
2.7
4
LSE
3.0
5
Imperial
5.0
6
Durham
5.3
7
Warwick
7.7
8
Bath
8.0
9
Loughborough
10.3
10
UCL
10.7
11
Lancaster
13.0
12
Bristol
13.3
13
Exeter
14.0
14
Sheffield
15.0
15
Southampton
18.0
16
Edinburgh
18.7
17
Birmingham
19.3
18
King's
19.7
19
Liverpool
20.7
20
Strathclyde
22.7
21
York
23.3
22
Aberdeen
23.7
23
Surrey
24.3
24
Leeds
25.0
25
Glasgow
25.7
26
Essex
28.3
27
Cardiff
29.0
28
Dundee
29.3
29
Manchester
30.0
30
Queen's Belfast
30.0
31
Arts London
31.7
32
Heriot-Watt
31.7
33
Leicester
33.7
34
Nottingham
35.7
35
Swansea
36.3
36
Nottingham Trent
39.0
37
Manchester Met
40.3
38
Portsmouth
43.0
39
Northumbria
43.7
40
Aston
44.3
41
Reading
44.7
42
Sussex
46.7
43
East Anglia
47.0
44
Chichester
47.3
45
Newcastle
48.7
46
Royal Holloway
48.7
47
Queen Mary
49.3
48
Aberystwyth
49.7
49
Keele
51.3
50
Ulster
51.7
51
West of England
52.7
52
Edge Hill
55.3
53
Oxford Brookes
57.7
54
West London
58.3
55
Bangor
58.7
56
Liverpool John Moores
59.7
57
Lincoln
60.0
58
Kent
61.7
59
City St George's
62.3
60
Harper Adams
63.0
61
Arts Bournemouth
64.7
62
Hertfordshire
66.0
63
South Wales
67.3
64
Abertay
68.7
65
Coventry
69.0
66
Stirling
69.7
67
Sunderland
71.7
68
Plymouth
72.3
69
Cardiff Met
74.7
70
Gloucestershire
74.7
71
Glasgow Caledonian
75.0
72
Goldsmiths
75.0
73
Norwich Arts
76.0
74
Robert Gordon
76.3
75
Bath Spa
76.7
76
St Mary's
76.7
77
Teesside
76.7
78
Falmouth
77.3
79
Derby
77.7
80
Salford
78.7
81
Kingston
79.3
82
Hull
80.0
83
Edinburgh Napier
80.3
84
Solent
80.3
85
Suffolk
80.7
86
Chester
84.3
87
SOAS
84.3
88
Plymouth Marjon
85.0
89
Liverpool Hope
85.7
90
Bradford
87.3
91
Huddersfield
87.3
92
Leeds Beckett
87.3
93
Bournemouth
87.7
94
Staffordshire
87.7
95
Sheffield Hallam
89.0
96
East London
91.0
97
Queen Margaret
92.0
98
Central Lancashire
92.3
99
Greater Manchester
94.0
100
UWTSD
94.3
101
Canterbury Christ Church
95.7
102
Leeds Trinity
95.7
103
Brighton
96.0
104
Lincoln Bishop
96.0
105
Buckinghamshire New
97.0
106
London South Bank
99.3
107
Brunel
100.3
108
Hartpury
101.0
109
Worcester
101.7
110
Leeds Arts
103.0
111
Winchester
103.3
112
Greenwich
108.3
113
Northampton
109.0
114
Birmingham City
109.7
115
York St John
110.7
116
Wolverhampton
112.7
117
Birmingham Newman
113.0
118
Creative Arts
113.0
119
London Met
113.7
120
Cumbria
114.0
121
Anglia Ruskin
115.0
122
De Montfort
115.3
123
Middlesex
116.7
124
Bedfordshire
117.3
125
Roehampton
119.7

Highlights

Within United Kingdom, St Andrews ranks first in 2026 (lowest value) with 2.3, followed by Cambridge (2.7) and Oxford (2.7).

Across 125 entries, values run from 2.3 (St Andrews) to 119.7 (Roehampton), with a median of 67.3.

Source: Complete University Guide, The Guardian and The Times / Sunday Times league tables (via Wikipedia), 2026. Unit: average league-table position.

Source: Complete University Guide, The Guardian and The Times / Sunday Times league tables (via Wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikipedia); underlying data © the cited publisher · fetched Oct 13, 2026