Oxford University has topped The Guardian's ranking of the best UK universities for 2026.
Retaining the top spot in the latest edition of the annual table, Oxford achieved a perfect 100 out of 100 score.
Last year was the first time since 2022 that the university had finished in first position, narrowly seeing off the University of St Andrews.
The Scottish institution had slipped to second after being ranked first for the two years prior and has finished as the runner-up once again this year.
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Cambridge has remained in third, while there is also no movement from last year's standings in fourth position, with the London School of Economics just missing out on a podium finish again.
Published this week, the 2026 guide provides an overall ranking for 123 UK universities as well as ranking each university by subject.
The Guardian considers eight different criteria including percentage satisfied with teaching, percentage satisfied with feedback, staff-to-student ratios and spend per student.
Also included are average entry requirements, career after 15 months, continuation of degree (for example, going into a relevant field), and value added score out of 10.
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An overall score out of a possible 100 is then given out with Oxford the only institution to get the perfect score again this year.
The university had top student satisfaction scores and good rates of graduate employment in a relevant field.
Oxford Brookes fell from a previous ranking of 38th to 55th, seeing a lowered score of 55.4 overall.
Despite dropping down the table, Brookes still placed higher than the likes of Reading, Solent and Lincoln.
