DURHAM has been named the best university in the North of England in a respected league table.

The Times Good University Guide 2008 put Durham top after assessing areas including entry standards, research quality, student satisfaction and graduates' job prospects.

The university, which is this year celebrating its 175th anniversary, came ninth out of 113 institutions across the country - one place up from last year.

York University was 16th, Newcastle 23rd, Northumbria 73rd, Sunderland 81st, Teesside 95th, and York St John 102nd.

Durham was named as the best place to study English, and among the top five for chemistry, engineering, geography, history, music and physics.

It is also in the top ten for economics, French, Iberian languages, law, maths and sport.

Professor Chris Higgins, the university's vice-chancellor, said: "Durham is committed to establishing itself as a top-ten university and this guide not only recognises our world-leading research across many disciplines and high-quality teaching, but also the value of our distinctive student experience.

"This is also good news for the North-East, particularly as one of Durham's goals is to contribute to the social, cultural and intellectual life of the region.

"The university continues to enjoy increasing applications and we fully intend to build on our successes in future years."

Earlier this month, Durham was named the best North university by PriceWaterhouse Coopers' Good University Guide, coming tenth overall.

Margaret Fay, chairman of regional development agency One NorthEast, said: "These latest accolades for Durham University confirm this and reflect the growing reputation of the region as a centre for world- class study and innovative research."