THE University of Worcester has been ranked among the lowest in the country for achieving top grades - but among the best for student experience.

According to a new study by the Daily Mail, Worcester ranks 124th out of 126 universities to get a first or 2:1 degree.

Overall, Worcester was ranked as the 99th best university in the country. 

However, student experience fared better with the University of Worcester ranking 35th for student experience. 

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The study also praised Worcester for its performance in sports science and health studies, naming it the fifth best out of the universities that provide similar courses. 

It was complimentary of the university's performance in sociology but gave it low marks for research income and research quality. 

Overall, a high amount of students feel they are on track 15 months after leaving, with the university ranking 27th in this regard. 

Each ranking is based on recent performance data in areas such as teaching and research, as well as the views of the 346,000 final-year students. 

It also looks at the universities where students stand the best chance of getting a high-skilled job when they graduate, the salaries they will earn and whether they feel, 15 months after leaving, that their careers are on track.

Those ranking the universities praised the awarding of at least 50 government-funded places for British students on the graduate entry medicine degree at the new Three Counties Medical School.

The piece said it was a considerable milestone for the University of Worcester which will help address long-term shortages of doctors in the three counties. 

The piece continued: "At the heart of the university's excellent sports provision is the Worcester Arena, also at the Severn campus, which hosts the likes of wheelchair basketball. 

"The university has four sites in the pretty cathedral city of Worcester. 

"Worcester is a key supplier of graduates into the public sector, with teaching, nursing and health and social care to the fore, and about three-quarters of graduates are in high-skilled jobs within 15 months of leaving."

A spokesman for the university claimed it was harder to gain a top grade at Worcester compared to many other establishments.

They said: "The fact that it is harder to earn a 1st or a 2:1 at the University of Worcester than it is at many other universities is no reason for the university to ‘lose points’ in any league table – but, unfortunately, that is just what the Daily Mail has done by giving weight to this metric."

They added Worcester was the top university in the UK for sustained employment five years after graduation, according to the Government’s official statistics.

They added: "The university also consistently has one of the very best sustained employment rates one, three and five years after graduation for any university in Britain.

"So we are delighted, but not surprised, that the Daily Mail has placed us in the top 20% in their own league table for success in helping our students to progress in their chosen careers, ranking us 27th for its ‘On track’ measure.

"As well as being good for the graduates and good for the University, this track record of excellent graduate employability is good for the city and the country."