AN influential guide has placed two of the region’s universities in the top ten in the country.

The Sunday Times University Guide 2010 names Durham as the region’s best university, ranking it seventh in the country, one place ahead of York in eighth.

Both moved up a place in the annual table, which ranks 122 UK institutions.

All the region’s other universities fell slightly in the rankings. Newcastle University was 24th, down one place, Northumbria University was 68th, down five places; Teesside University was 76th, down six places, Sunderland University was 87th, down 15 places, and York St John was 93rd, down two places.

The Sunday Times said Durham dominated the North East’s university rankings and said it was one of the most highly regarded in the UK among headteachers and academics and that student satisfaction was among the highest nationally.

The guide rated teaching in 24 subjects as excellent and praised the university’s collegiate system for being small student communities at the centre of most students’ lives.

Vice-chancellor Professor Chris Higgins said: “The Durham experience provides students with the necessary academic and social skills they need to succeed in life, and many of our graduates go on to achieve great things in their chosen fields.

“That is why Durham remains one of the most popular choices for some of the most able and motivated students from around the UK, and indeed the world, and why our graduates are among the most sought-after in the country by employers in all walks of life.”