Oxford University

Oxford University

Age: over 900 years

History: Oxford can lay claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. It has no clear date of foundation, but teaching has existed there in some form since 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. The first international scholar was Emo of Friesland, who arrived in 1190, and the oldest colleges - University, Balliol and Merton - were founded between 1249 and 1264. All of Oxford's 38 colleges now admit both men and women.

Address: Spread across the city, its dreaming spires, meadows, quadrangles, chapels and museums have inspired writers from Chaucer to Iris Murdoch.

Ambience: The oldest and probably the most famous university in the English-speaking world, Oxford is a vast, sprawling institution. Lovely buildings date from every century.

Vital statistics: Life centres around the 38 autonomous colleges where 11,700 undergraduates and 8,100 postgraduates live, socialise and are taught. Private-school and southern students over-represented but efforts being made to change that.

Added value: An Oxford degree opens doors to jobs. Its graduates have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

Easy to get into? No. Entrance based on conditional offers, usually no less than AAA at A-level. Shortlisted applicants are interviewed.

Glittering alumni: 25 British PMs including Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher; scientists Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking; a huge number of writers including Aldous Huxley, Lewis Carroll, JRR Tolkien, Evelyn Waugh, CS Lewis, John le Carré, John Fowles.

Transport links: On yer bike. Oxford is flat and small enough. Excellent bus and rail services to London.

Who's the boss? Professor Andrew Hamilton, Provost of Yale University, will succeed Dr John Hood as Vice-Chancellor in October 2009.

Teaching: Rated 6th out of 113 by the National Student Survey.

Research: Came 2nd out of 113 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: Ranked 1st out of 113 Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: Cheap beer in college bars. Most colleges have expensive annual balls.

How green is it? Oxford came 83rd in People & Planet’s 'Green League 2009', an assessment of environmental performance. The University is committed to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions in line with UK government targets of 20 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, based on 1990 levels.

Any accommodation? College accommodation is readily available. Prices vary according to the individual college, between £3,000 and £4,500 per year.

Cheap to live there? Average rent in a shared house is between £350 and £450 per month.

Sports ranking: Good - ranked 10th out of 144 in the BUCS league.

Prospectus: 01865 288 000; www.ox.ac.uk

UCAS code: O33