The University of Sussex in Brighton has been ranked fifth in the South-East in a league table of universities.

It was ranked 31st in the UK, five places up on last year in the table, compiled by the Sunday Times.

The Falmer-based university beat Reading, Kent at Canterbury, Oxford Brooks, Portsmouth, Chichester and Brighton.

Brighton was ranked 14th in the South-East and 68th nationwide, one place down on last year.

Sussex was hailed for its research and its courses in education, which were described as "excellent".

Brighton, which was the Sunday Times University Of The Year in 1999, still impressed the critics in this year's round-up and was commended for its research and teaching in sport, tourism and hospitality.

Living in Brighton was also considered a bonus for students seeking a good social life.

Both universities hope new projects, including a joint medical school and the Freeman Centre for science and technology research, will boost their ratings in the future.

A Brighton University spokesman said: "The university is pleased to be recognised as 'one of the leading new universities, strong on teaching and with one of the best research profiles in the sector'.

"The university is playing a vital role in the education and training of teachers, nurses, health professionals, architects and engineers as well as contributing fully to the artistic and business community in Brighton and Sussex."

University of Sussex vice-chancellor Alasdair Smith said: "These results show improvements across the board.

"The quality of our teaching has been scored highly in recent official assessments during the past 12 months, recognising the great efforts made by staff.

"Our research performance was also commended by the Sunday Times, which said the latest research assessments confirmed our 'world class expertise across a wide range of disciplines'."

Cambridge University came top of the national list, followed by Oxford.