Most festive universities in the UK

Which university is the most festive?

In first place on our list of the most festive universities in the UK is Abertay University in Dundee, with an impressive total score of 209. It performed consistently well across all categories — ranking joint first for pubs per square mile, sixth for Christmas break length, and among the closest universities to the North Pole.

It seems there’s plenty of festive spirit in Dundee, because the University of Dundee follows closely behind in second place, scoring 205 points overall. The city’s strong showing continues Scotland’s dominance in this year’s rankings, with the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of Aberdeen, and the University of Stirling all securing top 10 positions.

Other universities in the ten most festive in the UK include the University of Sunderland in third place, Newcastle University and Northumbria University in joint sixth, and the University of Bradford rounding off the top five.

It’s clear that Scotland’s cosy charm and winter traditions have helped it top the festive charts once again — but cities like Newcastle and Manchester continue to bring the Christmas magic too, with their famous festive markets, twinkling lights, and unbeatable atmosphere throughout December.

Which are the least festive universities in the UK?

Sadly, there are some universities that might need a little more tinsel and fairylights to ignite the festivities. The least festive was Falmouth University in Cornwall. It’s not obvious why, but it may be something to do with the lower number of pubs and ice rinks around, being furthest away from Santa’s home in the North Pole, being one of the places least likely to see snow, and having a comparatively shorter winter break. Overall, Falmouth generally came out last or among the last for all factors.

Second-least was Plymouth Marjon University, followed by the University of Plymouth, University of Exeter and the University of Winchester.

Which universities are most likely to see snow this December?

If you’re the type of person who loves the snow, then you’ll no doubt be interested to know which unis are most likely to have a white Christmas. We used Weather25.com to find out how many days each city in the UK was expected to see snow in the Christmas month of December.

Incredibly, Carlisle, home to the University of Cumbria, is expecting 16 snowy days this year! That’s by far the most out of the university cities listed. Following that is the University of Huddersfield, predicted to have 9 snowy days, and then the four Edinburgh universities in our table that may see up to 7 days of snowfall that month.

Meanwhile, three northern universities based in Ormskirk and Sheffield are predicted to be completely snow-free. Edge Hill University, Sheffield Hallam and the University of Sheffield are most likely going to be lacking that winter wonderland postcard-perfect Christmas. Cities like Falmouth, Plymouth, and Exeter are also expected to be mainly snowless, which might explain their overall poor rankings in our table of the most festive universities in the UK.

Which university has the most pubs for a fun Christmas?

Whether you’re heading out for drinks with mates on Christmas Eve, planning on some good roasts, or want to catch the sport on Boxing Day, a pub is an essential Christmas component. They’re usually all cosy and warm, and have more Christmassy and festive environments than bars. We found how many pubs each university city has per square mile according to Liberty Games’ research. Obviously, the higher the number of pubs per square mile = the better!

So which are the most festive universities when it comes to the best selection of pubs? In joint first place were universities all based in Brighton and Liverpool, including University of Sussex, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Brighton, University of Liverpool, and Liverpool Hope University. If you’re a student in Brighton or Liverpool, you’re in a great position for festive fun at your local.

On the other hand, if you’re a student in Oxford, Cumbria, Wrexham or Winchester for example, you might find it slightly harder to get yourself down the pub. These cities are among a few where the number of pubs per square mile was zero! On the bright side, the few pubs scattered around these areas might be full of all fellow students so you’ll be able to celebrate all together.

Which are the most festive universities for ice skaters?

If you love doing something active, or just feel like Christmas isn’t Christmas til you’ve glided along the ice, then these universities are bound to bring you joy. One of the factors we ranked universities for being the most festive was their proximity to an ice-skating rink.

We searched each UK university using Google Maps and then found the nearest listed ice rink. The University of Greenwich came out on top as the best university for ice skating. It’s right by Queen’s House Ice Rink making it easy for students to hop across and unleash their inner Michelle Kwans or Nathan Chens. Or perhaps you’re not even that good but just enjoy getting Christmassy by putting on the blades each year.

Both the University of the Arts London and University of Lincoln also came in second place, being extremely close to Patinoire, followed by Abertay University and London School of Economics in third and fourth place respectively.

Meanwhile, no ice rinks were found in the vicinity of Falmouth University or Plymouth universities. This possibly also contributes to their total scores.

Which university gives its students the longest Christmas holiday?

By searching on each university’s website to find their dates for winter break, we found which universities were the most festive and generous to students. They were ranked by number of days off, with the highest number of days receiving the highest score and vice versa.

According to the University of Oxford’s website, students get 44 days off. It’s probably due to how hard the uni is, so if you’re attending a prestigious uni like Oxford – you’ll definitely be using some of that winter break to rest your mind.

Also making the top five universities with the longest break are St Mary’s University, LSE, the University of Bradford and Coventry University.  

Which university is closest to Santa?

Of course, this isn’t something universities have much control over. However, we wanted to measure how close universities were to the North Pole, seeing which unis Santa was likely to visit first. We used a distance calculator to find the distance for all listed universities and the North Pole, ranking them in order of lowest number of miles.

It’s no surprise that Scottish universities came out on top here, with Robert Gordan University taking the top spot overall. Sadly, this meant Falmouth University was the furthest away and therefore at the bottom of the table.

Methodology

We gathered unique research combined with various data sources to find out which is the most festive university in the UK. The sample included 126 universities across the UK, excluding those with incomplete data. An index was created for each variable (number of snowy days, duration of Christmas break, number of pubs per square mile, proximity to an ice rink, and distance to the North Pole) and each university was given a score based on their position in the list per variable. Two variables (proximity to an ice rink, and distance to the North Pole) were reverse-scored, whereby the lower proximity = higher scores.

Finally, we used the summation of these scores to provide an overall rank for universities to see which were the most festive. Data was collected and analysed in October 2025.