The Guardian newspaper’s university ranking system placed the Peninsular School of dentistry 6th in its recent polling.
The college which is based in Plymouth is also just two places ahead of the Peninsular’s medical school which is ranked 4th in the league table.
This is welcome news considering that Plymouth University decided to split the schools into 2 last year.
Speaking with reporters, Professor Wendy Purcell, the university’s vice-chancellor, said: “This is a pleasing result and is testament to our unique students-as-partners approach.”
She added that the mission was to produce exceptional doctors and dentists who can embark on their new careers armed with top grade skills not just in relation to their chosen fields but also in how they relate to patients.
Emphasis is placed on patient communication as well as patient care.
While this is great news for the Peninsular Medical and Dental School, Exeter University fell out of the top 10.
This news has not been welcomed.
Trying to put a brave face on the situation, Professor Sir Steve Smith, vice chancellor and chief executive of the university said he blamed the drop to 12th place on the Guardian’s system on the newspaper’s value-added score which is used to determine the rankings on the league table.
He said: “The Guardian is the only league table that does what it calls value-added, which means what grades do you get, given your intake. But if you’re taking in people with three A grades, then you can hardly add anything, because you expect them to do very well.”