Nearly 1,000 years old, University of Oxford has a history as impressive as its alumni, who include writers such as William Golding, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Kingsley Amis, John Fowles, Jeanette Winterson and Iris Murdoch - and that's just in the 20th century. Tony Blair also studied here.

University of Oxford is divided into colleges of all ages, shapes and sizes. Students have good facilities and access to historic libraries. The college also follows a tutorial system which most students find beneficial. However, popular courses such as English and medicine are competitive and often oversubscribed.

Social life is based around the colleges, which run events in their bars and junior common rooms, although Oxford itself is also fairly lively.

Access remains difficult, with students from independent schools outnumbering those from state schools. The university offers summer schools and part-time courses in an effort to counter this and to encourage mature students and those from state schools.