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Another dumb list of ‘best’ music colleges, this one from the Guardian

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norman lebrecht

May 27, 2015

Ranking educational institutions on merit is never an exact science. We’ve published a few such attempts before. But this latest list from the Guardian newspaper of the ‘top’ places in Britain to acquire a music education seems wider than most of any kind of mark.

It frankly beggars belief to put the Royal College of Music six places above the Royal Academy (pictured). Each has areas of excellence, but most neutral observers would place the Avademy first. And as for putting the University of Surrey above Oxford and Cambridge…. well, you might as well include Hogwarts, which seems to have a more stable future as Surrey embraces a rush of cuts.

Enjoy.

1	Royal College of Music	100
2	Edinburgh	99.4
3	Manchester	99.1
4	Surrey	98.8
5	Oxford	95.9
6	Guildhall School of Music and Drama	95
7	Royal Academy of Music	94.3
8	Sheffield	93.1
9	Birmingham	93
10	Southampton	91.9
11	Durham	91.3
12	Cambridge	90.7
13	Nottingham	90.5
14	Birmingham City	88.2
15	Glasgow	88.1
15	Sussex	88.1
17	Newcastle	86.3
18	Brunel	85.6
19	Bangor	84.7
20	Royal Holloway	84.6
21	Royal Welsh College	84.5
22	Bristol	83.8
23	York	83.7
24	King’s College London	83.5
25	City	82.9
26	Goldsmiths	82.8
26	Queen’s, Belfast	82.8
28	Trinity Laban Conservatoire	81.9
29	Leeds	81.5
30	Hull