Now firmly established as a leading new university in The Times League Table, Oxford Brookes was one of a handful of former polytechnics to have a subject rated internationally outstanding in the last Research Assessment Exercises.

That the 5* rating in history placed the department ahead of its world-renowned neighbour can only have added to the sense of achievement. English and French reached the next grade.

The biggest entry in any new university represented 41 per cent of the academic staff, and meant that overall results were unusually variable.

Applications have been steady, although the decline at the start of 2008, with the reduction in the number of choices from six to five per applicant was above average.

Location

The university’s location has always been an advantage in student recruitment, but the quality of provision is the real draw. Its departments feature near the top of The Times rankings for several subjects.

Town planning and economics achieved perfect scores for teaching quality and Brookes has been in the top 25 in the National Student Survey for the last two years. Philosophy, theology and social work achieved the best results in 2007.

Ofsted rated primary teacher training outstanding. The university houses national centres for hospitality, leisure and tourism, and the teaching of business and undergraduate research, as well as one for teacher training in partnership with Westminster University. The Architect’s Journal rated the Department of Architecture the best outside London.

Employability

Oxford Brookes, which has a consistently excellent record for graduate employment, is also partnering Warwick University in the Government’s academy for gifted and talented schoolchildren. More than a quarter of the undergraduates come from independent schools – by far the highest proportion among the new universities and twice the national average for the university’s subjects and entry grades. However, 37 per cent of places go to students from working-class homes.

The university has been trying to attract more students from state schools and has targeted areas in Oxfordshire. Brookes made a leap in size in 2000, taking in Westminster College, a merger which added 2,000 students, mainly in teacher training and the humanities, and forming a £2.5-million Institute of Education.

As a polytechnic, Oxford pioneered the modular degree system that has swept British higher education. After more than 20 years’ experience, the scheme has now trimmed the 2,000 modules it once offered, but undergraduates can pair subjects as diverse as history and biology, or catering management and environmental management.

Each subject has compulsory modules in the first year and a list of others that are acceptable later in the course. Students are encouraged to take some subjects outside their main area of study, and there is a range of possible exit points. There are four main sites, two of which are only a mile from the city centre and linked to each other by a footbridge.

Development

Some £150 million has been earmarked for improvements to the Headington, Wheatley and Harcourt Hill campuses over the next few years. Buildings on the original Gipsy Lane site, at Headington, dating from the 1950s and ’60s will be replaced with flexible, functional buildings benefiting from the latest technology.

A public consultation showed strong support for a contemporary architectural style and more green spaces for the new development. Students starting in 2009 will benefit from the first stages of the project. Maths and engineering have now joined computing and business five miles away at Wheatley.

The new engineering building will support the university’s status as a Government-designated regional centre for motorsport and high performance engineering. The Harcourt Hill campus at Botley focuses on teacher education, human development and learning. A swimming pool and 18-hole golf course have been added to the already impressive sports facilities.

Representative teams have a good record, with the rowers particularly successful and the cricketers now combining with Oxford University to take on county teams. The students’ union runs the biggest entertainment venue in Oxford, a city that can be expensive, but which offers enough to satisfy most students. The university has 3,700 residential places, all with internet access – enough for all first-year undergraduates.

Explore Education

• Young Times

• Schools

• A Level & GCSE Results

• Good University Guide

• Sunday Times University Guide

• Student

Times recommends

• Five essential tips for your year abroad
• Are students killing television?
• Reading masses discover British Library