These are the UK’s top 10 universities right now, according to the Complete University Guide

The UK has a lot of things going for it. Besides our underrated landscapes, exceptional music scene and wealth of things to do, we have a bunch of prestigious universities that have churned out some very, very smart people – we’re talking global leaders, Nobel prize winners, world-changing inventors and powerful economists, to name but a few. 

But which of those unis is the very best? The Complete University Guide has just released its latest league table to answer that exact question. The annual ranking judges each institution in the country based on several factors like entry standards, student satisfaction, graduate prospects and research quality, then gives them an overall score. 

Predictably, Oxbridge occupies the top two spots. This year the University of Cambridge landed in first place with an impressive overall score of 100 percent, while the University of Oxford came second with 96 percent.  They were the only two unis not given a score for student satisfaction though, so make of that what you will. 

London School of Economics and Politics (LSE), which has produced 18 Nobel Prize winners, followed closely behind in third place with an overall score of 95 percent. Then it was the University of St Andrews (a known fave among the royals) in fourth place, although in a separate ranking from the Sunday Times, the Scottish uni actually beat both Oxford and Cambridge to top spot. 

Completing the top five was Imperial College London, who’s notable alumni include Queen’s Brian May and Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin. See below for the rest of the top ten. 

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The UK’s top ten universities, according to Complete University Guide

1. University of Cambridge
2. University of Oxford
3. London School of Economics and Politics (LSE)
4. University of St Andrews
5. Imperial College London
6. Durham University
7. Loughborough University
8. University of Bath
9. University College London (UCL)
10. University of Warwick 

You can see the entire league table for 2025 on the official Complete University Guide website here. And if you’re interested in world rankings, see which three UK unis were named some of the best on the planet. 

Did you see that the UK is officially the world’s sixth-most beautiful country?

Plus: This is the UK’s best beach, according to the Telegraph. 

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