DURHAM University has retained its top spot in the region in a national league table.

Four other university’s in the North-East rose in the rankings, produced by TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk for 2018.

It was the only region in the UK where none of its universities fell in the rankings.

Durham held onto sixth place in the table, with Newcastle rising to 23rd.

Teesside was the biggest climber in the region, rising six places to 101, while Northumbria has improved four places to 55 and Sunderland by one place to 102.

The region’s mean scores for entry standards, student-staff ratio, facilities spend, the percentage of students awarded a first or 2:1 degree and graduate prospects are all better than the UK average.

Professor Stuart Corbridge, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, said: “Durham has been ranked in the Complete University Guide’s top ten UK universities for the past ten consecutive years and we are pleased to have maintained our overall position of sixth this year.

“Over 90% of our subjects are ranked in the UK top ten, with three subjects; English, music and education achieving first position. This demonstrates our sustained level of success in what has been a challenging time for the UK higher education sector.”