Aberystwyth tops university town league

Tuesday 5 June, 2007
Aberystwyth tops UK's favourite university town league
Aberystwyth is the UK's favourite university town according to the findings of a study published by www.accommodationforstudents.com which have been published today, Tuesday 5 June 2007.

The survey, which is based on nearly 34,000 reviews by students from 81 university towns around the UK, asked them to rate their university location (out of 10) across five criteria: going out (restaurants, pubs, clubs), shops (supermarkets, corner shops, book shops, video shops), transport links (buses, trams, train, underground), community (safety, student population, surroundings) and facilities (gyms, libraries, parks).
Aberystwyth comes out top with a score of 64%, scoring particularly well on the dimensions of community and going out.

Equal second, with a score of 62%, are Brighton, Manchester and Exeter in England, and Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee in Scotland. Three other Welsh university towns, Cardiff, Swansea and Bangor joined Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Plymouth, Oxford and Southampton among the third tier that scored 60%.

The findings of the study have been welcomed by Professor Aled Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor at Aberystwyth:
“This is excellent news and confirmation that the University of Wales, Aberystwyth is one of the best places in the UK to study.”
“This comprehensive survey, coupled with the findings of the most recent Student Satisfaction Survey (August 2006) clearly show that students who decide to study at Aberystwyth enjoy the best of both worlds: a University which offers an excellent academic experience in terms of academic facilities and staff who are dedicated and professional, and a town which is safe, welcoming and offering a varied and intense social life. It is a very special place to study,” he added.

In the latest National Student Survey The University of Wales, Aberystwyth was 5th and top in Wales with a satisfaction rating of 90%, up from 87% in 2005.

Aberystwyth also featured 7th and again top in Wales in the Times Higher Education Supplement satisfaction league table which was published at the same time. The National Student Survey is part of the Teaching Quality Information web-site which was launched in September 2005, see http://www1.tqi.ac.uk/sites/tqi/home/index.cfm .