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St Andrews takes first place in Scotland in latest university rankings

The Fife-based university was second in the UK-wide table, behind Oxford.

Katharine Hay
Friday 16 September 2022 09:21 BST
The University of St Andrews came top of the Scottish table (Alamy/PA)
The University of St Andrews came top of the Scottish table (Alamy/PA)

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The University of St Andrews has taken the number one spot in Scotland in a national league table.

It was placed second in the UK-wide version of the table, slipping from first place last year as Oxford took back that position, with Cambridge still in third place.

The results will be published in the 96-page 2023 edition of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide on Sunday.

In the Scottish version of the league table, the University of Edinburgh came second – the institution was 10th UK-wide, while third position went to the University of Glasgow, ranked 14th in Britain.

Results show 87% of students at St Andrews, the alma mater of the Prince and Princess of Wales, go on to “high-skilled jobs or study”.

The establishment also beat all other universities in Scotland in the national student survey for teaching quality (84%) and student experience (80.5%).

The Queen’s granddaughter Lady Louise Windsor is to attend St Andrews to study English.

Lady Louise – the 18-year-old daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex – starts her degree course this year.

The guide provides rankings for UK universities using data published in the last two months, and an overview of higher education in Britain.

It includes profiles on 135 universities.

Zoe Thomas, principal author of the guide, said: “St Andrews is the best performing university in Scotland and is second-top across the UK, keeping Cambridge in third place.

“It scores exceptionally well on student satisfaction and graduate employment, and has earned the well-deserved accolade of Scottish University of the Year.”

In fourth and fifth place in Scotland came the University of Strathclyde and the University of Aberdeen, respectively.

In the UK-wide table, the London School of Economics and Political Science was in fourth place and Imperial College London was placed fifth.

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