Chichester is the smallest of the nine universities created in 2005, despite being an amalgamation of two former teacher training colleges. But it features consistently among the leading modern universities in league tables. It was outscored by only one of its peers in the National Student Survey published in 2008, when biology, business, history, philosophy and sports science all showed very high levels of satisfaction. These achievements were reflected in a 17 per cent rise in applications for courses beginning in 2009 – the second big increase in three years.

The university traces its history back to 1839, when the college that subsequently bore his name was founded in memory of William Otter, the education-minded Bishop of Chichester. It became a teacher training college for women, who still account for two-thirds of the places. Two further stages preceded university status – twenty years as the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education, following an amalgamation with the nearby Bognor Regis College of Education, and then seven as University College Chichester. The Chichester campus – now the larger of two – continues to carry the Bishop Otter name, signifying a continuing link with the Church of England.

Courses

The two faculties operate on both sites, one covering business, arts and the humanities; the other sport, social sciences and education. The portfolio of some 50 courses ranges from adventure education to humanistic counselling, fine art and theology. The PE teacher training course is the largest in the country – the university now trains one in five PE teachers in England – and is highly rated by Ofsted. Sport was the only area in which the university registered any ‘world-leading’ work in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, but history and drama, dance and performing arts also produced good results.

The Mathematics Centre, at Bognor, has an international reputation, working with over 30 countries as well as teaching the university’s own students. It has become a focal point for curriculum development in Britain and elsewhere.

Access

About 40 per cent of the 5,000 students are over 20 on entry. Almost all are state-educated and, despite the comfortable south coast location, the proportions from working-class homes and areas of low participation in higher education are both slightly above the national average for the university’s courses and entry grades. The projected dropout rate, at less than 8 per cent, is half the benchmark figure. The university runs summer taster sessions and has a series of partnerships with schools in the Channel Islands and Sussex to encourage a broader intake. Courses are also run in collaboration with Isle of Wight College, where fees are pegged at £1,200, and with the Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy, in Uckfield, East Sussex.

Location

Both of the university’s campuses are within ten minutes’ walk of the sea and the 655 residential places are roughly equally divided between them. There is a university bus service linking the two and student union bars at each. Sports facilities are good and competitive teams surprisingly successful for such a small university. The university has been chosen to provide training facilities for competitors in athletics, boxing, road cycling and table tennis before the 2012 Olympic Games. The bid was based on Chichester’s expertise in sports science, as well as its facilities.

The small cathedral city of Chichester is best known as a yachting venue, while Bognor’s days as a leading holiday resort are well in the past, it is said to have the longest stretch of coastline in the south where all types of watersports are available. Both locations offer a good supply of private housing and some student-oriented bars. Much of the surrounding countryside has been designated an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Times recommends

• Oxford releases sample interview questions
• Britain takes over in world’s Top Ten
• Students face anxious wait for loans