ONE of the region's universities has been named UK University of the Year in a national newspaper guide.

The University of York, ranked top in Yorkshire and sixth in the UK, won the accolade for its "sustained excellence" in the national top ten in the Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Durham University dropped four places from last year to 17th, but retained its position as the top university in the North-East.

It received praise for a £2,000 bursary scheme, open to local applicants from low-income families, but was ranked seventh for the lowest intake from state schools across the UK.

York University, which is 40 years old this year, was praised for its intake of students from state schools and drawing applications from working-class backgrounds and deprived areas.

It also had a higher number of applications per place than Oxford or Cambridge.

Newcastle University was ranked second in the North-East and 22nd nationally.

Ian Coxon, editor of the Good University Guide, said it was fast catching up with Durham as the best university in the region.

First place in the table was Cambridge, which has topped the table for the six years the guide has been published.

Mr Coxon said: "Because Cambridge came top every year, we decided to create a University of the Year accolade to enable other institutions to be praised for their efforts. York more than deserves it."

York Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said: "We are delighted that York has been named University of the Year.

"The accolade reflects the university's consistently high performance in teaching and research quality and its welcoming and supportive approach to students.

"It is a very great credit to the hard-working and talented staff here."