Cambridge University tops Complete University Guide

(Getty Images)

Cambridge University has taken the top spot in a new university league table. It has beaten Oxford University for the third year in a row in the latest annual Complete University Guide.

Oxford University came up a place to take the second position on the table. They were previously third last year when the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) pipped them. The LSE now takes the third position followed by Imperial and Warwick.   

Emily Marchant, a MA student currently at Cambridge and studying English Literature said, “I am delighted that Cambridge is doing so well as it’s a great place to live and study! It’s nice to be on the top spot and it’s good to know that the hard work is paying off”.

The table used a variety of measures to class the universities, which include student satisfaction, entry standards, staff-to-student ratio, spending on facilities and graduate prospects.

Georgina Leighton, a graduate from Oxford University said, “it is good that Oxford is up a position but a shame that we haven’t been able to beat Cambridge”.

Cambridge University were ranked first out of 123 universities across the UK. Merrow Golden, a Cambridge graduate highlights the increasing importance of league tables: “I am glad to hear the university is still providing a top-class education and I predict that with the increase in tuition fees, league tables may become increasingly relied upon by students who want to make sure they are getting their money's worth”.

Ashok Kumar, an LSE graduate who is currently studying his PhD at St John’s College, Oxford University disagrees with the use of league tables for university rankings. He said, “the league table industry would cease to exist if it didn’t mindlessly shuffle the deck chairs from time to time”.