Newcastle University

Newcastle University has finished the 2009-10 academic year in 11^th position (out of 146 institutions) in the National British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Rankings for HE.

 This is the 4^th consecutive year Newcastle has finished among top sporting strongholds including Loughborough, Birmingham, Durham, Oxford, Manchester and Nottingham and well ahead of local rival Northumbria back in 20^th position.

Although the University finished some way behind overall winners Loughborough who dominated the table,  Newcastle did finish the season with a total of 1797 points – 35.5 more than last year – with only a handful of points separating the University from Exeter in tenth position with 1848 points.

It represents an excellent achievement for Team Newcastle, whose athletes have maintained their competitive edge in an increasingly hard fought league, with some outstanding individual and team performance in a wide range of sports, including skiing, rowing, climbing, rugby union, golf, equestrian and squash.

Performance Sport Manager, Fraser Kennedy, commented: ‘Maintaining this high position is significant.  Sport now plays a greater role than ever in the student experience and student recruitment, as well as in the marketing and reputation of the University and our links with alumni, so it is essential that Newcastle continues to strive for excellence in sport’

‘Our position in the BUCS league also places us in sixth position in terms of our Russell Group comparators, and hopefully this can help the University’s performance in other National league tables’, he said.

Professor Charles Harvey, Pro-Vice Chancellor with responsibility for sport, said: What this result shows is that Newcastle University's athletes and coaches are sustaining a consistently high level of achievement year on year. It is that consistency which is so important to furthering Newcastle's reputation as a University that provides students with excellent academic credentials at the same time as supporting their sporting aspirations.
 
"We could not achieve these results without a great deal of commitment and dedication from the athletes themselves, the coaching staff and administrative support teams, and I congratulate them all on yet another great success", added Professor Harvey.