Warwick placed sixth in Complete University Guide

Warwick now ranks as the sixth best university in the UK according to latest figures published by The Complete University Guide. The independent surveying body – which investigates all of the UK’s 116 universities – revealed it’s latest league table results on 24th April.

Warwick has improved on its position from last year, jumping from 8th to joint 6th and remains the only university in the Midlands to be featured in the top ten. Loughborough made one of the more significant jumps in the table, advancing from 19th position to 14th.

As one might predict, Cambridge occupies the top spot for the second year running, but controversially, rival Oxford lost out on second place; trounced by the London School of Economics (LSE) who shot up from 4th position.

Since the publication of league tables began in 1993, Oxford has never failed to achieve anything other than first or second place. The drop can be traced to the decline in Oxford’s graduate prospects, LSE achieved a score of 87.8, almost ten points higher than that awarded to Oxford. Critics have cited LSE’s high score to the fact that students are already located in London where the vast majority of graduate roles can be found, immediately improving their employment prospects.

All things considered, scores at the top were close and LSE’s overall mark was only one point higher than Oxford’s, showing that Oxford’s ‘fall’ was hardly great. Warwick was not far behind; with an overall rating of 855, the University was only 15 short of winner Cambridge.

First-year Physics student Ian Sheldrake said: “I definitely picked the right uni. Warwick consistently performs well but it’s good to see its position in the tables improve further. Maybe next year we’ll make it into the top five.”

Others were more excited by Oxford’s demise. “It’s refreshing to see a different university secure second place”, said English student Becky Kerridge, “It’s time people recognised that there are several high-class
universities in the UK, not just two.”

The league tables consider an array of factors including entry standards and the likelihood of gaining a good degree but also focus on issues such as the level of student satisfaction. For example Buckingham University – despite appearing halfway down the league tables for it’s overall score – was awarded the highest mark for student satisfaction: 4.4 compared to Warwick which only achieved 4.0.

However in the Guide’s subject tables Warwick performed well, and was ranked in first place for American Studies, Film and Television Studies and Theatre, Performance and Cultural Policy Studies, proving its position in the tables was well deserved.