Bottom 7 UK Unis ' All In London'

Loughborough has again topped an annual poll to find the best university according to students.

The institution came first in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey.

The survey asked more than 13,000 undergraduates to rate their university on 21 different factors, from the quality of teaching to the social life on campus.

Loughborough scored highly for its sports facilities, campus environment, extracurricular activities, social life, students' union and library.

It is the fifth year running that the university has topped the poll.

In second place this year was Sheffield University, and in third was the University of East Anglia.

Both Oxford and Cambridge have slipped down the ratings.

Cambridge was in fourth place, down from second last year, and Oxford was sixth, down from third last year.

Ann Mroz, editor of Times Higher Education, said: "Our annual survey is well established as a benchmark of the student experience at each university.

"Unlike other polls, it asks students themselves to rate the factors they see as important - from the quality of teaching to the non-academic aspects of university life that contribute to a great all-round experience, so it has always been highly influential and very closely watched.

"With universities in England grappling with the new funding regime, working out how much to charge in tuition fees up to the new cap of £9,000 a year, the data in this table will be more important than ever.

"It gives the first clear and comprehensive sense of which universities are already satisfying their students across a range of issues that students value, and which have more work to do, even at current tuition fee levels."

Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said: "This survey allows students a real voice to say what they think about their experiences and universities. As tuition fees are once again tripled students will increase the pressure on their universities to deliver a high standard of academic, social and environmental experience."

Westminster University came bottom of this year's poll, with the University of East London just above it.