ABERYSTWYTH University has picked up gold and silver at the WhatUni Student Choice Awards 2018.

The university won in the Postgraduate category and, for the second year running, also picked up a silver award in the International category at the awards ceremony held in London on Thursday, 19 April.

As well as the Postgraduate and International categories, Aberystwyth University had been shortlisted for a further five awards including University of the Year, Accommodation, Clubs and Societies, Course and Lecturers, and Giving Back.

Aberystwyth University also featured in the top 10 in the UK in all the categories for which it was shortlisted, including fifth overall for University of the Year.

More than 36,000 student reviews were collected and more than a 100 universities were visited in order to compile the shortlist.

For the 2018 awards, 43 higher education institutions were nominated across 15 categories, recognised by their students for offering an incredible university experience.

The WhatUni awards are based on averages taken from tens of thousands of reviews submitted by students and published on Whatuni.com.

The annual survey also showed that Wales hosts the happiest students across the UK.

Now in their fifth year, the awards provide prospective students with an unbiased, student-led alternative to traditional university ranking systems.

Prof John Grattan, pro vice-chancellor for student experience at Aberystwyth University, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won the top place in the Postgraduate category, the silver award for International and to have been shortlisted in a further five categories."

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday