The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester has been ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK for the best student experience.

That's according to this year's Sunday Times Good University Guide. The university climbed 14 places from its 2021 rating in the annual guide, was ranked eighth in the list of the best universities for student experience and also came in at 53rd for students' evaluation of teaching quality.

Professor Peter McCaffery, vice-chancellor, said: "We are delighted to have improved our ranking in this year's Sunday Times guide.

"Earlier in the year, we achieved excellent results in the 2022 National Student Survey (NSS), with student satisfaction scores beating even those of the best-performing Russell Group universities.

"Students ranked us as the top university in the UK for being a learning community and fourth highest for overall student satisfaction across English universities. We were also in the top 10 for both academic support and organisation and management.

"In addition, the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF), which was published this summer, ranked our overall research at its highest ever level, which puts us firmly on the map as a world-leading specialist institution for sustainable farming and land management.

"This ranking in the Sunday Times Good University Guide is the icing on the cake in what is already an excellent year!"

The Sunday Times guide, stated: "The Royal Agricultural University, famous for its secluded Cotswolds setting, is branching out in a big way," and referred to the RAU's recent partnership with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Agriculture to establish the International Agriculture University in Tashkent, as well as the plans for the RAU rural innovation village.