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Students are most satisfied with the quality of teaching at the University of Buckingham, says a new league table .
According to the Complete University Guide (CUG), students have left the independent university “delighted” with the academic staff, saying they were “easily reachable, enthusiastic, and interesting.”
Surrey and Keele have also been placed second and third respectively, with Coventry and Liverpool Hope taking the fourth and fifth positions.
Top 10 universities for student satisfaction
Buckingham - 4.36 Surrey - 4.31 Keele - 4.28 Coventry - 4.28 Liverpool Hope - 4.28 Loughborough - 4.26 Bangor - 4.26 St Andrews - 4.23 Essex - 4.22 City - 4.20 Buckingham said it was “very proud” having taken the top spot, adding: “At a time when there is such concern about the quality of teaching at our universities, there is no accolade more important than this.”
Show all 34 1 /34Student news in pictures South Korean policemen detain a student demonstrator during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye
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South Korean policemen detain student protestors during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. The protesters demanded that the parliament takes steps to impeach President Park Geun-Hye
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Filipino demonstrators face off with anti-riot police during a protest near the US Embassy in Manila, Philippine
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Hundreds of protesters including Indigenous People, students and militant groups marched towards the US Embassy to protest against the presence of US military troops and condemning the violent dispersal which left at least forty people hurt including twenty police officers and three people who were run over by a police van
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A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students
A man holds up a photograph of a missing student with a caption reading 'We are missing 43,' during a meeting marking the 25-month anniversary of the disappearances of 43 students in the southern state of Guerrero, in Mexico City. A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students
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Miguel Perez, an intern student from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, puts away his cell phone before walking into the operating room at the Dr. Isaac Gonzalez MartÌnez Oncological Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once they complete their general surgery training, many residents are moving to the United States in search of better wages, one of the main factors linked to the current shortage of specialists in the Island
Fewer EU students have applied to start university courses in the UK next autumn. There was a 9% fall in the numbers who had applied for courses, according to admissions service UCAS.
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University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Masses of protesters jammed the streets of Venezuela's capital on the heels of a move by congress to open a political trial against Maduro, whose allies have blocked moves for a recall election
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University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela
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Thousands, most of them high school students, march during a demonstration in Madrid, Spain, on a one day strike to protest about the country's education law that increases the number of annual exams
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Students gather on the west mall to confront the Young Conservatives of Texas student organization over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action
Donald Parish Jr, right, confronts Electrical and Computer Engineering senior Dewayne Perry over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action
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Brigham Young University announced that students who report sexual assault will no longer be investigated for possible violations of the Mormon-owned school's strict honor code that bans such things as alcohol use
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Students of secondary education march to protest against the final examinations and LOMCE (The Improvement Quality Education Law) law, after a call by trade unions, in Murcia, Spain
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South African police have used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters who had marched to the parliament building to call for free university education, where the finance minister was giving a budget speech
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Police break up student protests outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa
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South African Policemen fire rubber bullets at student protestors in Cape Town, South Africa
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A student protestor is hit by a rubber bullet in Cape Town, South Africa
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An injured student is helped by colleagues during protest outside the parliament during South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's medium term budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa
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Plaintiffs and bereaved families of elementary school students killed in the tsunami that followed a major earthquake in northeastern Japan in 2011, show banners that say 'victory in a suit filed with the Sendai District Court' in Sendai. A Japanese court ordered municipalities to pay $13.7 million dollars to families of school children who were swept away to their deaths by the 2011 tsunami
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A group of student at Ewha Womans University calls for a thorough investigation into those involved in years of engagement with state affairs backstage by Choi Soon-sil, a personal confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, at the school's front gate in Seoul, South Korea
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Students raise placards during a strike action called by the student union, in Madrid against university entry exams
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Libyans throw a newly graduated student into a fountain as they celebrate during the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi
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Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi
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Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi
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Thousands of Thai Catholic students take part in mourning tributes and in singing the Thai Royal Anthem to honour late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Saint Dominic School in Bangkok, Thailand
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Students of Silpakorn University paint portraits of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok
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A student of Silpakorn University paints a portrait of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok
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St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend
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St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend, an annual tradition where student 'parents' inflict tasks on the unfortunate first-years they have adopted as 'children' as part of a mentoring scheme
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Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) in Havana, Cuba
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Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) take part in a practice in Havana, Cuba
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Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) wait in line to enter a classroom in Havana, Cuba
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Vice-chancellor, Sir Anthony Seldon, described how an increasing number of students are choosing Buckingham over large universities because, instead of “big, impersonal lectures,” Buckingham’s academics have “an open door policy,” allowing for students to get help whenever they need it.
He said: “It isn’t surprising we’re ahead of Oxford and Cambridge. Our students are taught by lecturers, many of whom are leading academics in their field.
The 20 hardest universities to get into “As one of Britain’s smaller universities, we can offer a friendly, caring environment which is very conducive to successful learning.”
CUG collected data from the National Student Survey (NSS) - a survey of final-year undergraduate students in 2015 - which asked questions about a variety of aspects of teaching.
CUG’s main league table saw Loughborough and University College London enter the top ten best universities in the country rankings for the first time, as Cambridge and Oxford took the top two spots.
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