St Andrews was one of a handful of Scottish universities to join the National Student Survey in 2006 – and the impact has been dramatic.

By registering one of the highest satisfaction levels at any university in The Times League Table, the results have helped restore the university’s position as the leading institution north of the border and secure a place in the top five overall.

As the oldest Scottish university and the third oldest in Britain, St Andrews has long been both well known and fashionable among a mainly middle-class clientele.

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Applications were down by only 2.5 per cent at the official deadline for courses beginning in 2008, when the UK average, with the reduction in choices per applicant, was more than 7 per cent. Earlier increases – including a 44 per cent rise in one year – mean that are still more than eight applicants for every place. With about 35 per cent of the students coming from south of the border, St Andrews has earned the nickname of Scotland’s English university. But another 30 per cent come from 90 countries farther afield, giving the university a cosmopolitan feel. Fee concessions and exchange schemes have boosted applications, particularly in the United States, which provides nearly a quarter of first-year students on its own.

Teaching

Peer assessments have shown that there is top quality behind the prestige. St Andrews has the best teaching and research grades in Scotland, as well as the lowest dropout rate. Uniquely, every subject assessed has been rated either Excellent or Highly Satisfactory for teaching, demonstrating quality across the board.

Psychology and English were the only starred research departments, but 15 subjects on the next rung of the ladder put the university into the top ten in terms of the average per member of staff. Nearly four in ten undergraduates come from independent schools, when the UK average for the university’s courses and entry scores is less than a quarter. A dedicated Access Centre has been trying to broaden the intake, and a successful fundraising campaign is building up a bank of £3,000-a-year scholarships for students from poor homes. Only Oxford and Cambridge have a lower proportion of students from working-class backgrounds.

Student scene

The town of St Andrews is steeped in history, as well as being the centre of the golfing world. The university at its heart accounts for about a third of the 18,000 inhabitants. There are close relations between town and gown, both cultural and social. New students (“bejants” and “bejantines”) acquire third and fourth-year “parents” to ease them into university life, and on Raisin Monday give their academic guardians a bottle of wine in return for a receipt in Latin, which can be written on anything. Another unusual feature is that all humanities students are awarded an MA rather than a BA. Many of the main buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries, but sciences are taught at the modern North Haugh site a few streets away. Everything is within walking distance, but bicycles are common.

Subjects

Although small, St Andrews offers a wide range of courses. The university’s reputation has always rested primarily on the humanities, which acquired a £1.3- million research centre recently. An £8- million headquarters for the School of International Relations opened in 2006, with Europe’s first Centre for Syrian Studies, an Institute of Iranian Studies and a Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. St Andrews has the largest mediaeval history department in Britain and has now added film studies and sustainable development. But a full range of physical sciences is offered, with sophisticated lasers and the largest optical telescope in Britain.

Development

An academic partnership with Dundee University is being developed in order to expand teaching and research in areas of common interest. A joint degree in electronics and optoelectronics was the first project, followed by shared teaching in medical education and health sciences, and the launch of a course pooling St Andrews’ excellence in art history and Dundee’s flair for design.

Students do not come to St Andrews for the nightclubs, but there is no shortage of parties in a tight-knit community. The sports facilities are excellent and more than half of all students live in halls of residence, the latest of which was opened by Gordon Brown in 2007, providing self-catering accommodation for 920 students during term and three-star accommodation for golfers and other tourists in vacations. Features such as the grass roof, which acts as a heat insulator during the winter and a natural cooler during the summer months, made it the first university residence to be awarded the Green Tourism Business Scheme’s Gold Award.

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