Top of the class

The School of English has been ranked the top in the United Kingdom, according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 published today (17 September 2021).

The news comes as the University of St Andrews overtook Oxford and Cambridge to claim overall top-spot in the UK league tables for the first time in the near 30-year history of the definitive Sunday Times Guide. The methodology used by the Guide editors to rank the UK's universities has not changed this year.

St Andrews took first place this year by virtue of its strong performances in student satisfaction, research, teaching quality, entry standards and graduate outcomes. The School of English came top out of 99 institutions with an exceptionally high score of 87.6% for teaching quality, and 79.6% for student experience.

Guide Editor Alastair McCall, said: "St Andrews' achievement in topping our institutional table should not be underestimated. Never before has any university other than Cambridge and Oxford finished top of our – or any other – domestic ranking of universities.

"It is no fluke. The university has been closing in on the Oxbridge duopoly for several years, buoyed by outstanding levels of student satisfaction which have peaked during the past year of pandemic disruption on campus. The lead St Andrews now has over other universities in this key area of university performance is remarkable."

Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sally Mapstone, said:

"I am thrilled for our students, staff and alumni. They are the people who made this happen.

"As one community, we strive constantly for excellence, and have a strategy that hasn’t been afraid to believe St Andrews could challenge at the very top by combining the best teaching, world-leading research, and an unswerving commitment to student satisfaction and achievement.

"I hope the fact that the staff and students of a small, Scottish institution have been able to break through the hitherto impenetrable Oxbridge ceiling will inspire others, and show that the status quo is only that if you allow it to be."

Professor Ian Johnson, Head of the School of English said:

"That this School has again come top in its subject area recognises the efforts and excellence of our staff, as well as the support and talents of our students. Warmest congratulations and thanks to all who teach and all who study in the School."