Grant chequebook journalism pays off

Former Varsity editor Oliver Duff dons his university scarf and stolen traffic cone to browse through the highs and lows of the student newspapers

LEEDS STUDENT

LEEDS STUDENT

Both Leeds universities

Founded: 1970 Published: weekly, 48 pages

Circulation: 10,500 Readership: 50,000

A 48-page beast so engaging and energetic that you don't notice only eight of them are in colour. The Leeds Student is like a particularly highbrow version of the Daily Star - without the flesh. Like all good tabloids it has perfected the art of huge pictures, screaming 72pt headlines and lots of small, readable articles. There's a fantastic Juice entertainment pullout with proper TV listings, meaningless must-read astrology by "Fruity Tobias" and a brilliant TV column lauding Eighties classics like Gladiators and Challenge Anneka. Longer, intelligent features and interviews are in the back. My favourite.

YORK VISION

University of York

Founded: 1986 Published: every three weeks, 40 pages

Circulation: 3,500 Readership: 10,000

Sensational and proud to be the campus pain in the arse, Vision just has the edge over local rivals Leeds Student on news - exposing a lecturer jailed for making child porn, campaigning against the Star Wars defence programme at a local US military base. Among the most visually accomplished of all the student titles, despite its shoestring budget. Expect Rob Harris (news, features) and Jonathan Bray (comment) to go to the nationals. The centre spreads are thoughtful eye candy, but the arts section closely resembles The Observer in style - which sits badly with the tabloid news pages. A close second.

GAIR RHYDD

Cardiff University

Founded: 1972 Published: weekly, 40 pages

Circulation: 10,000 Readership: 20,000

Amateurish masthead doesn't do justice to the surprise inside: health and media pages, comprehensive sport, a Welsh page, a jobs and money section, a full letters page suggesting a paper in touch with its readers, and four pages of opinion. Also has a "Dr Matthew" problem page, where advice always makes things worse (with a disturbing photo casebook starring Phil Collins and Jon Snow). Has guts and knows its audience. The astoundingly good Quench arts-lifestyle magazine inside lifts it into our top three, while the title, "Free Word", sums up the genius of all student papers.

VARSITY

Cambridge

Founded: 1947 Published: weekly, 28 pages

Circulation: 10,000 Readership: 16,000

As befits a title with the likes of Jeremy Paxman and Andrew Gowers among its alumni, Varsity takes it all very seriously. Strong writing and worthy investigations - "there are still fewer black undergraduates at the University than there are students or academics with the surname White" - are sometimes let down by hasty production, washed-out pictures and dull headlines. Swish fashion, science mags and a poetry anthology add a touch of class. Still, the paper of the student media establishment: Archie Bland and James Dacre continue the dynasties of dads Sir Christopher and Paul. Probably the most intelligent read.

STUDENT DIRECT

Universities of Manchester, Salford and Bolton

Founded: 1997 Published: weekly, 36 pages

Circulation: 22,000 Readership: 60,000

Student Direct's problem is that it doesn't know whether it's a shouty tabloid or a thoughtful compact. The somewhere-in-the-middle result lacks the brashness of its successful northern neighbours but at least avoids taking itself too seriously. Not as well produced as the frontrunners, but the writing is generally good if you dive in regardless. More student papers should have a sex column (although the tip involving bits of bacon and a piece of string left this reviewer erotically scarred) and the fashion centre spread is consistently beautiful. Better splashes would lift it higher up the top half of the table.

THE OXFORD STUDENT

Oxford University

Founded: 1992 Published: weekly, 44 pages

Circulation: 12,000 Readership: 15,000

OxStu's masthead and skyline screech "quality" before you even pick it up, and generally the paper doesn't disappoint. A racy writing style, slick production, some decent splashes and a campaigning feel - particularly on tutorials and an asylum-seeking Afghan student's attempt to stay at Oxford - make it a smart final product. Few glitches here. The weaknesses are rubbish listings and boring page 3s. If only the layout was a little more adventurous - fewer half-pages, more spreads, cutout pictures, better use of colour - it would look even better. Reporter Rob Lewis is outstanding.

TRINITY NEWS

Trinity College Dublin

Founded: 1947 Published fortnightly, 28 pages

Circulation: 5,000 Readership: 15,000

Trinity News is a broadsheet with a clear sense of purpose: sober news, engaging think pieces and a feast of light features, striking a comfy balance between Dublin and wider affairs. There are gems: a great little story on the accommodation director wandering naked around campus, a smashing pub review column ("The carpet has an inch pile of fine, soft, burgundy wool, so vomit at your peril") and a moving first-person account of depression. But for the most part news is limp and badly written, with little thought for the casual reader. Gaelic page in the back.

THE BEAVER

London School of Economics

Founded: 1949 Published weekly, 36 pages

Circulation: 3,500 Readership: 9,000

Beaten in the comedy name game only by Sussex's The Badger, LSE's The Beaver first strikes you as jaw-achingly boring. One can only guess the editorial staff - accused of being a "socialist politburo of communist hacks" - assumes its readership has a fetish for pictures of buildings and yawn-a-word headlines. This title has little of the campaigning energy other student rags exude. But first impressions can be misleading and there's a range of hard-nosed, intelligent comment. Never going to fool you into thinking it's a professional publication, but readable.

REDBRICK

University of Birmingham

Founded: 1936 Published weekly, 28 pages

Circulation: 6,000 Readership: 20,000

"Uni image revamp: logo to go," says the splash. "The University of Birmingham's current crest and image are to be axed under corporate 'rebranding' plans, Redbrick has learnt." Harsh to pick out such a weak example, but it demonstrates the problem this newspaper has: namely that it doesn't have any news. (One inside page of campus news is a feeble effort at such a big uni.) It ticks the student newspaper boxes - wear a condom, think about Aids and tuition fees - but with very little passion. It has plenty of decent arts reviewers but needs a bit of attitude, a design rethink and more good reporters.

LIVERPOOL STUDENT

University of Liverpool

Founded: 1999 Published: fortnightly, 28 pages

Circulation: 8,000 Readership: 30,000

Not quite as slick as the other northern tabloids but the Liverpool Student is nicely produced and has a good mix of double page spreads (interviewing up-and-coming bands, advice on finding a house) and regular bite-sized features. Examples include a celeb fix with the "2pm Girls", a sex editor ("How old is too old?"), and an amusing matchmaking feature - the best of the bunch - where highly inappropriate couples stitch each other up in public. (Low point of the date: "I saw a much fitter girl I'd rather have" ... Chance of some action later: "Only if she was gagged.") Good student reading.

GLAGOW UNIVERSITY GUARDIAN

Glasgow University

Founded: unknown Published: every three weeks 28 pages Circulation: 5,000 Readership: 10,000

The absence of last year's star reporter Ruaridh Arrow is felt: news this time around has a bit of a student union bickering feel to it, and the sub-editors need to cut the acronyms - there are too many SRCs, GUUs and QMUs. But there are some decent stories, among them the union spending money on pornography and black cab marketing, and an exposé on the practices of Glasgow's biggest letting agency. Critic of the year-cum-editor Steve Dinneen writes great editorials - comparing Glasgow University to Nero's Rome. The Insight arts pullout is well written and well produced.

SPARK

University of Reading

Founded: 1934 Published: weekly, 32 pages

Circulation: 3,000 Readership: 10,000

About as visually appealing as a punch in the retina, Spark is not one for press connoisseurs or design consultants who sleep badly. There are a lot of nasty essay fonts, word processor pie charts on the front page and pixellated dresses in fashion. Some of the articles seem a bit random in a Reading student newspaper ("Blair and Howard get dirty over old woman") but the paper has a good sense of humour. Sport is atrocious but music very comprehensive. Moving in the right direction, but could do with better computers and more staff.