Every university in the North East ranked best to worst in Guardian University Guide 2025 league table

• The Guardian has now released its league table for the UK’s universities ahead of the 2025 school year.
• Universities are ranked based on an array of measures, including student satisfaction, typical UCAS scores of new entrants, and more.
• Of the North East’s five universities, many have seen a boost in their ranking on last year.

The North East of England might only have a few local universities, but the region is punching above its weight when it comes to performance.

The Guardian has released the latest version of its university league table for the 2025 school year, with this summer’s university-bound secondary school leavers across the country currently in the process of moving to their new campuses - and gearing up for freshers’ week.

The prestigious ranking rates the UK’s 160-odd universities based on a range of different factors, to give them an overall score out of 100. These include current student’s satisfaction with both teaching and feedback, the staff to student ratio, how much money the institution spends per student, the average UCAS entry score for new starters accepted into the university, percentage of first year students continuing on to their second year of study - and even graduate career prospects.

Here is how the North East’s 5 universities stacked up, ranked from highest to lowest scores:

1. Durham University

Durham University, which as its name suggests is based in Durham, ranked 6th overall in the UK this year on The Guardian’s league table - up from 7th place last year. It was given an overall score of 80.8 out of 100.

2. University of Sunderland

The port city of Sunderland’s namesake university ranked 33rd overall this year, shooting up from 49th place last year. The Guardian gave it an overall score of 61.6 out of 100.

3. Northumbria University

Based largely in Newcastle, Northumbria University was ranked 38th overall in the UK this year (with an equal score to two other universities), holding onto the same league table spot as last year. The Guardian gave it an overall score of 60.7 out of 100.

4. Newcastle University

Newcastle is ranked 63rd overall this year, up from 67th place last year. The Guardian gave it an overall score of 56 out of 100.

5. Teesside University

Rounding out the list is Teesside University, based in Middlesbrough. It came in 68th place this year (with an equal score to two other universities), still up substantially from 80th last year. The Guardian gave it an overall score of 54.4 out of 100.

For more information about how different universities have performed in each category, check out The Guardian’s full list here. You can also sort schools by different subjects they teach, and it says even universities languishing near the bottom of the list can be ranked highly in some - so it’s worth checking out the top schools for your preferred course as well.