Universities to do English Lit for quiet/shy DD

That absolutely applies to Russell Group Universities.

Having said that, most universities are facing financial challenges since visa rules changes are causing a decrease in the number of international students so, there may be more places up for grabs this year as universities may be tempted to over recruit to make up for the lost income.

Very good point...

OP has she actually said she wants to be somewhere small, quiet, nurturing as everyone is suggesting? Because I was a quiet shy girl and the absolute last thing I wanted was to be "nurtured" or to be in a small town or campus where I'd be bumping into people I knew from uni all the time. Maybe she'd thrive in a big city where she can be anonymous? I did.

Where are you based?
3 hours by car or only one change by train to get to the nearest city to home was our rule.
We can recommend Unis that are great for English but all Unis are set up for party people and quieter types. She's going to find her tribe if you hold her back a year or not.
In London several of the unis share accommodations across the city which makes it harder to find a gang, I think. Birmingham is similar except that Aston, BCU and University college are all very close so even if your 'home' friends aren't in the same Uni you are only minutes apart even in the daytime for a coffee if you pick halls near to them.
I can't advise on English personally, but I would say do your reading now. If she's going into Y13 you are already way behind for open days. My youngest took a year year out and we still looked from Y12 just to get a feel for each place.
There are rumours about everywhere: drugs and spiking and gangs and all sorts of shenanigans. All cities have issues, most towns do too. Have faith in your DD. She will find her tribe and if you have taught her well she'll choose wisely.
Anyhoo (sorry for rambling on);
My brood (if I add in a friends' offspring for anonymity) have attended York, Durham, Lincoln, BCU, BIMM, Leicester, Cambridge and Bangor. All of them found their tribe; quiet or loud, night owls or larks. Further, they didn't all leave Uni in the category they left home in.
My advice would be to visit lots of places that she's interested in and take it from there. No one gets route marched to the nightclubs; there really is something for everyone at all the unis.
Good hunting!

Great choices. Good luck to her!

someone near home might be good

It's half an hour off the A1 !!!

My DD has York as a firm choice and Birmingham as insurance for English Lit, so really encouraging to have the benefit of your knowledge/experience; thank you :)

And yes, she picked them because she thought it would be nurturing (and they did a good job of selling this at the Offer Holder Days particularly).

IIRC it was also the case last year that a lot of the higher ranking universities appeared in Clearing at this point but vanished when A Level results came out. So I suspect top universities in Clearing at this point are looking for good applicants who don't currently have a "home" - not filling places with people predicted with lower grades.

Yes, but there are posters on here (OK, me...) who have seen generations of young people go off to uni and know where those young ones have thrived, sunk, succeeded, partied , been supported, got brilliant roles, dropped out . It's not invalid.

As people keep saying, York and Lancaster have nurturing reputations. So certain types pick them for that as part of a suite of reasons , and others sometimes eschew them, despite their excellent academic reputations because they want bright lights big city, party hard.and close, say, the equally good Manchester.

If I were to be fully biased I would say Birmingham does both of these things well.

There is no way to predict what the best fit for the student might be. A lot of what looks good on paper can turn out to be very different when it comes to lived experience. Students can develop and grow in terms of personality and maturity, too.

Therefore, getting into the university with the best reputation for your subject is important. Other factors to take into account would be support in the job hunt and pastoral support for the tough times.

Not disputing. I went there! Out of this poster's DD's grade range.

I would recommend York over Lancaster. I have experience of both and feel York is a much more interesting place, small friendly campus and has a very good English department (if she gets the grades of course).

Clearing doesn't mean what it used to.

There's no cap on numbers. Most unis will hoover up as many students as they can.

There are some unis with medicine in clearing!

The Times GUG is robust too but the top 20 won't be much different.

@Piggywaspushed I think CUG is used by IFS and is considered to be reliable. That’s why I think it’s best to look at them and not The Guardian.

I would look at a number of factors. Highest ranked for ABB/AAB entry. How many get into the top 25 with that tariff? I think, for example, Newcastle and Nottingham at 16 and 17 have a lower entry tariff than Lancaster. All three have English in clearing though. In future, these could be more forgiving for applicants. Surrey is a lower tariff again so definitely look there. Cardiff and Liverpool are asking for lower than Newcastle and Nottingham but not by much. All are in top 25. Then sift through next 25. Obviously decide on city or campus too. Even Edinburgh is in clearing.

It seems highly likely the published tariffs are too high at many unis. Between 7- 25 ranking, only Bristol isn’t in clearing for English. So many tariffs are clearly too high if only 7/25 are full. 25-50 ranking - only Stirling isn’t in clearing. So 8 out of 50 unis offering English are full. Clear case for some mergers and more course reductions it would appear.

Lancaster. Collegiate/campus uni, small city, good for EngLit.

Stirling? Small campus university.

it always amazes me that some posters can’t understand that maybe the Uni isn’t all
about how well it’s doing in the league tables but what is the best fit for the student.

Tizer, I totally get your point but you gave yet to make a suggestion. Throw out a few names in top 20 of league tables. Plenty of us might know what it's like to study or live in those places and I am likely to know some people who went there. That's why I have cautioned against Kent, for example.

League tables are helpful but the CUG is only one.

The OP's DD wants to do English . I'm sure she knows of pros and cons.

People have suggested Birmingham, Lancaster, UEA, Leicester , Surrey inter alia. All have their merits.

I think OP just wants a longlist.

It's definitely true that there are party unis. I have had students apply specifically to eg NTU. That then frontloads that uni with a type of person.

@Piggywaspushed By whom? You do always use this phrase but looking at employment prospects, it’s not employers in vast numbers. Only those in education ascribe “highly regarded” to middle ranking unis. Employers are not rushing to employ Swansea English grads. What do you say about an English degree rated 79th? Very nearly highly regarded? It’s words without substance in the wider world. With English, uni ranking overall might matter if employer is not recruiting uni blind but skills and aptitudes will matter more to employers, not the literature studied. It’s a means to an end.

Why bother with league tables then? As there are clearing vacancies in English at top 10 unis for English it’s telling you these degrees are not that highly sought after. York to be in clearing does matter as the value of the degree from York is dropping in the eyes of applicants and is no longer selective. Swansea is also in clearing.

The big question is what work will follow this degree? What’s the goal? Could the DC at lower tariff unis get equivalent work via another route? The reason English isn’t as popular is earnings and careers afterwards are causing issues. Dc are swerving into perceived more lucrative degrees, eg Law.

Swansea is 36th on Cug but one of the worst for grad prospects. 1/3 not doing anything grad related after 15 months. Maybe not enough good employment in Wales? However a big element in this isn’t what literature you study, it will be more about what skills dc get and what else is on the cv, eg work experience, volunteering etc.

Swansea is highly regarded for lots of subjects, including English.

Exactly. No idea where swansea is in the leagues but it offered the course content she wanted to study and offered her a place with A* Eng lit and C and D in art and music...