How the North East's universities rank in the UK-wide league table

The Complete University Guide 2019 rankings are based on 10 measures, including student satisfaction, research, entry standards, the proportion of good honours degrees awarded, graduate prospects and completion rates.

Durham University was the top scorer for the North East coming in sixth position.

While the football club may have been relegated, Sunderland University has climbed a few places up the league table this year, coming in 99th place. Despite this, it's the lowest-ranking university in the region.

A spokesperson for the University of Sunderland said: “Seeing a three-place rise in the Complete University Guide 2019 ranking for the University of Sunderland reflects the positive impact of our transformation programme.

"We are making significant investment in health sciences, engineering and technology to support the region’s social and economic needs, and our work on culture is impacting on urban regeneration and social change.

"We are making good progress towards the ambitions set out in our Strategic plan 2016 – 2021, which are to ensure excellence in teaching, research, student experience and employment prospects.

“We provide life-changing opportunities for our diverse and vibrant learning community: our widening participation record is testimony to the work we do in raising aspirations and promoting social inclusion within our region.

"Meanwhile our research-informed curriculum and exceptional student support enable learners to develop the skills and flexibility required by employers, in the UK at our Sunderland and London campuses and on a global scale.”

Teesside is just a few places ahead at 92nd. It is the biggest climber of the North East unis, moving up nine places.

Newcastle University moved up one spot to 22nd, while Northumbria went down to 56th.

Cambridge and Oxford were ranked first and second respectively, the London School of Economics and Political Science was third, then Imperial College London in fourth, and rounding out the top five was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's alma mater, the University of St Andrews.

Durham was followed by Loughborough, Lancaster, Warwick and the University College London taking the 10th spot.

The rankings, which cover 131 institutions, also show that the biggest climber was Staffordshire University, which moves up 32 places to joint 73rd.

Dr Bernard Kingston, chairman of thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk, said: "It is a fact that Cambridge and Oxford have usually topped the table. But some 20 British universities could be regarded as top world-class institutions - some ancient like Cambridge and Oxford, and some modern like Warwick and Lancaster.

"All are able to attract faculty and research funding globally.

"This clearly influences the quality of their undergraduate teaching and enables them to recruit high-quality students. All universities strive for continual improvement, and it is conceivable that in the future others may pose a challenge to Cambridge and Oxford."

The authors note that across the UK, the proportion of graduates gaining a first or 2.1 has increased year-on-year since the table was first created.