• Swindon & Wiltshire Education, training and skills
• Tuesday September 24 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Bath and Bristol Universities among best in UK, with Reading the most sustainable, says Sunday Times

The Universities of Bath and Bristol have been named among the best in the UK by the influential Sunday Times UK University Rankings 2025.

Bath held on to its eight-place ranking from 2024, while Bristol climbed five places but just missed out on a Top ten spot, coming in at 11th.

Reading jumped ten places to joint 24th. And the institution – whose professor Ed Hawkins created the Climate Stripes project, which assigns a temperature colour from blue to red to demonstrate rising global temperatures – was named the UK’s most sustainable university.

The UK’s 131 Universities were ranked on teaching quality, student experience, research quality, entry standards, graduate prospects, the rate of Firsts / 2:1s awarded, continuation rate, student-to-staff ratio, and people and planet.

Bath’s Sports Science course was ranked second best in the UK, and its Business, Management and Marketing course was ranked third.

The university has now maintained a top 10 position in the overall Times’ league table for a decade.

Professor Phil Taylor, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Bath said: “We’re delighted to once again be top in the south west in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

“This tremendous achievement follows on from high rankings in the Daily Mail and Guardian university guides last week and completes a clean sweep of top 10s in all the major UK rankings this year.

“These strong performances are down to our focus on delivering excellent teaching and research, ensuring that our students receive a high-quality and rounded experience, and the excellent career prospects that University of Bath graduates enjoy.”

Bristol’s Education and Russian and Eastern European Language courses were ranked as second best in the country and its Dentistry, General Engineering and Aerospace Engineering courses as third best.

Professor Michele Acuto, the university’s pro vice-chancellor for global engagement, said: “Bristol is a fantastic place to study and work and we are proud to see that recognised in The Times’ latest guide.

“It’s particularly exciting to see so many Bristol subjects placing near the top of their fields, and it’s a testament to our academics and support staff that they are consistently ranked so highly.”

The guide’s authors said Reading “made an impressive headway towards its ambition of being one of the greenest universities in the world.”

It topped the People and Planet table and was highlighted for reducing its carbon emissions by more than 60 per cent since 2009 and cutting waste by 35 per cent.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, vice-chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “We are proud to be a multi-award-winning community playing a sector-leading role in addressing climate change and environmental sustainability through our world-leading research, teaching and campus operations.

“It is excellent to be recognised as Sustainable University of the Year, which reflects the incredible hard work of our students, colleagues and partners who together have a shared commitment to securing a better global future.

“This is wonderful news to receive as we start a new academic year, and I look forward to our community continuing their efforts to make a real difference in the years ahead.”

Pictured: Bristol University’s Wills Memorial Building. Photo by Joe Baxter