Oxford ranked best university in the world

Oxford has been ranked the best university in the world - the first time a UK institution has finished top of the table.

The Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings listed Oxford in prime spot, knocking California Institute of Technology into second place.

Cambridge and Imperial College London joined Oxford in the top 10 for 2016/2017, ranking fourth and eight respectively.

But there were warnings that the UK's decision to leave the EU could pose a big threat to higher education in the UK.

Phil Baty, editor of THE world university rankings, urged: "The UK must ensure that it limits the damage to academics, students, universities and science during its Brexit negotiations to ensure that the UK remains one of the world leaders in higher education".

This year, the global rankings saw 91 UK universities placed in the top 980 universities, which represents 5% of the world's higher education institutions.

With 88 universities in the top 800, up from 78 last year, the UK is second only to the US for the number institutions in the world's best 800.

According to the British Council, the UK is the world's second most popular destination for overseas students, with 493,570 enrolled in universities in 2013/14.

Times Higher Education top 10 universities (from 1-10):

• University of Oxford

• California Institute of Technology

• Stanford University

• University of Cambridge

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Harvard University

• Princeton University

• Imperial College London

• ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

• University of California

• University of Chicago

Selected UK universities:

• University College London (15)

• London School of Economics and Political Science (25)

• University of Edinburgh (27)

• King's College London (36)

• University of Manchester (55)

• University of Bristol (71)

• University of Warwick (82)