Complete University Guide reveals best universities for sport

The Complete University Guide today (Tuesday July 24) publishes the most comprehensive survey yet of sports facilities and activity at the UK’s universities.

Compiled for The Guide by British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), the national governing body for higher education sport in the UK, the survey classifies universities by their performance, facilities, and scholarships. It gives the clearest picture possible of the opportunities for sport at 96 universities across the UK.

The table shows those universities that have performed best in inter-university competition, the range and availability of in- and outdoor sports facilities including swimming pools, football and cricket pitches, and tennis and netball courts, and availability of sport scholarships, among other information.

Bernard Kingston, founder of The Complete University Guide, says: "Sport plays a large part in the lives of many young people and in many cases will be decisive factor in their choice of university. The opportunity to take part in sport, at any level, enhances the university experience and would-be students will increasingly take this into account.

“Many of the athletes competing in London 2012 over the next few weeks have developed their skills while studying at UK universities”.

Student and graduate competitors will be strongly represented in Team GB’s medal campaign for London 2012, in both the Olympic and Paralympic events. A report* for Universities Week found that over the last 20 years 61% of Team GB Olympic Games medallists and 65% of Team GB gold medallists have been to university.

Dr Kingston said: “We are grateful to BUCS for providing us with the data so that we can enable prospective students to balance sport against the other factors they will weigh when making their decision.”

Alex Scother, Head of Communication, Commercial & Marketing at BUCS said, “2012 has been another amazing year for university sport. In May the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships, the test event in the Olympic stadium, gave 1500 student athletes from 117 institutions the opportunity to be the first to compete in front of 46,000 fans, in the venue for this year’s Olympic Games. On the international stage there has been fantastic successes as the Great Britain University Netball and Rugby 7's teams were crowned World Champions. The profile of sport at universities is growing not only in relation to competitive success on the international and domestic stage but also in respect of the range of opportunities for students to become involved as a participant, coach and or volunteer. Many universities have invested significantly in their facilities in recent years and this table will assist in informing potential students of the range of facilities and services on offer".

Read about the sporting opportunities and facilities at university – the BUCS University Sports table lists availability of sporting facilities by university.

*Olympic and Paralympic Games: The Impact of Universities