St Andrews overtakes Oxford, Cambridge at top of Guardian Guide

Oxbridge is being replaced by Stoxbridge after St Andrews overtook Oxford and Cambridge at the top of the Guardian University Guide.

It is the first time that the university of Fife has been ranked highest in the Guardian's annual guide to undergraduate courses, pushing Oxford into second and Cambridge third.

The rankings, which includes student satisfaction and attainment, graduate outcomes and staff-student ratios, shows that the three universities are in a league of their own, with only fractional differences separating first and third places, but also a much larger gap to their rivals, such as Imperial College London.

Dame Sally Mapstone, the vice-chancellor and principal of St Andrews, said: I hope that St Andrews great students and all of my hard-working colleagues will feel the recognition of this very significant achievement. They deserve it.

The Guardian measures set us narrowly ahead of some of the best universities in the world because of our strengths in the key areas. A small Scottish university to shake the established order is a great tribute to everyone who works and studies here. St Andrews is the third-oldest university in the UK, only predated in 1413 by Oxford and Cambridge, whose earliest royal charters were awarded in the 13th century.

The Stoxbridge trio also dominate the individual rankings for undergraduate subjects in the Guardian guide: Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews take the first place in 30 out of 36 subject areas. Cambridge leads in 15 subjects but St Andrews is ranked the first in a string of major subject areas, including history, economics, chemistry and English.

Matt Hiely-Rayner, who compiled the guide, said there was little to separate the three Stoxbridge members, with the narrowest difference between first and third in the guide's history.

These three are removed from the rest of the sector, and that is clearer. But there isn't much difference between them, they are so close that tiny judgments would make a difference in the order, he said.

St Andrews has a higher entry grades among incoming undergraduates, as well as high student satisfaction with teaching and a high proportion of students who go on to graduate employment or further study.

St Andrews offers slightly different subjects than Oxford and Cambridge, and because of that, it has a slightly better performance, Hiely-Rayner said.

Imperial, which was named the Guardian University of the Year after rising to fifth place outside Stoxbridge, has improved performances outside of Stoxbridge. It has the highest student satisfaction for teaching in England, as well as strong performances in engineering subjects, including the top spot in the new category of aerospace engineering.

Imperial excels in helping students establish their careers. More than 94% of the people with degrees have found graduate-level positions within 15 months of earning their degrees.

The rankings recognises strong improvements in universities across the sector, with several able to celebrate improving their positions. The University of West London is ranked 23 rd overall, climbing from 96th in the 2017 guide, thanks to an exceptional performance in student satisfaction surveys. The University of Sunderland has moved from 92nd to 50th place overall.

Record numbers of school leavers are starting undergraduate courses at UK universities this autumn. The unabated demand for higher education and the mini baby boom that began in the mid-2000 s is causing increased competition for places across the sector.