THE University of York remains the second best in the north of England, according to The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019, but its national ranking has dropped.

It has fallen from 16th to 22nd nationally in the latest Guide. The university was ranked second in the region last year and has maintained this position.

Meanwhile, York St John University has been rated the ninth best in the north, the same as last year, but has jumped up the national league table, from 118th in the 2018 Guide to 102nd in the 2019 edition.

The University of Leeds is the top ranked university in the north, but has dropped one place nationally from 10th to 11th.

In response to the latest Guide, a University of York spokesman said: “We are pleased that we remain in a strong position in the Northern Sunday Times League Table, but disappointed to have fallen in the national table.

“Our student experience will continue to remain at the heart of everything that we do in what has been a challenging year for the sector.

“We will be undertaking further analysis of the league table in the coming weeks to understand the main areas of influence on our national ranking.”

Professor Karen Stanton, vice chancellor of York St John University, said: “Our ranking in the Sunday Times guide makes York St John University the fastest rising university in the region and shows that our work to offer an excellent student experience in addition to creating strong employment prospects is really making an impact.”

The University of York has scored 81.3 per cent for teaching excellence, compared to 83.4 per cent last year, and its score for student experience is down from 81.8 per cent to 79.3 per cent.

York St John’s teaching excellence score has improved slightly from 80.8 per cent to 81.1 per cent, while it received 79.2 per cent for student experience, up from 78.8 per cent.

Teaching excellence and student experience are two of the nine indicators that make up the Good University Guide UK university league table.

The new edition of the Guide, a free 96-page supplement, will be published this weekend in The Sunday Times.