The University of Bradford has been honoured for its winning combination of attracting working class and black students, having low dropout rates, and excellence in teaching and research.
The university has appeared in a list of the top 28 in the UK in the Times Higher Education Supplement, judged on how well each place has widened access.
The accolade was welcomed today by the vice-chancellor, Professor Chris Taylor.
He said: "The University has a firm commitment to confronting inequality and celebrating diversity and we believe our highly successful progression rates reflect the supportive environment that exists here.
"We have a very good record of widening participation, and believe it is possible to combine this with low drop-out rates and excellence in teaching and research."
At Bradford, 91 per cent of students are from state schools. And only 15 per cent dropped out last year.
The University achieved six out of seven 'excellent' scores in the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education subject reviews, demonstrating its commitment to teaching.
And 83 per cent of academic staff earned a grade 3 and above in national research ratings.
The University has a pro-active approach to widening access. Schemes include the junior university and summer programme; the Higher Education Summer School; the Children's University; Excellence Challenge; and mentoring to ethnic minorities. This work was cited as an example of good practice in Lord Ouseley's report Community Pride Not Prejudice published in July 2001.
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