UNIVERSITY Centre Somerset (UCS) has become the only university or university centre in the whole of the South West to exceed the benchmark across all seven core themes of the 2026 National Student Survey (NSS).

Published annually by the Office for Students, the National Student Survey captures the views of final-year higher education students on every aspect of their university experience, including teaching, learning opportunities, academic support, learning resources and student voice.

The University Centre, part of the part of UCS College Group, achieved outstanding results with an above-benchmark performance across every theme.

Highlights from the UCS results include 96 percent of students responding positively about the teaching on their course. Students also rated UCS highly for wider aspects of student life, with 94 percent responding positively about information on mental wellbeing support and 98.5 percent saying they felt free to express their ideas, opinions and beliefs during their studies.

Dean of UCS, Dr Ashley Kempson, said: “These results are a tremendous endorsement of the learning experience we provide at University Centre Somerset.

“We are incredibly grateful to every student who took the time to complete the survey. Their views help us continue to improve and ensure we provide an exceptional higher education experience to learners from Somerset and beyond.”

The National Student Survey is one of the UK's largest annual surveys of higher education students and provides valuable insight into the quality of the student experience across universities and higher education providers.

Almost 6 million students have shared their experience of university and colleges via the survey since it was introduced in 2005. The results are available to access for all those intending to apply to university via the Discover Uni platform.

The survey is run by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies.