- St Andrews comes out as the safest UK student city during Freshers season, with just 120 crimes recorded across September and October 2025, equal to 103 per 10,000 students.
- Scotland dominates the top of the ranking, with Dundee and Stirling joining St Andrews in the top three, while Derry/Londonderry is the highest-ranking city outside Scotland.
- Oxford is the safest English student city, with around 402 crimes per 10,000 students, while Bangor leads Wales with 346 per 10,000.
- At the other end, London recorded 11,186 crimes across the two months, while Bradford had more than 2,100 crimes per 10,000 students and Leicester finished bottom overall.
Freshers season is exciting, but it is also one of the few times in life when thousands of people arrive in an unfamiliar city at roughly the same time, often going out more, meeting new people and finding their way around after dark.
New research from ID card specialists ID Card Centre has revealed which UK student cities recorded the strongest safety results during the 2025 Freshers season.
The study analysed recorded crime across September and October 2025, using a consistent city-centre catchment wherever comparable street-level data was available. Overall crime, violent crime and antisocial behaviour were assessed relative to the number of students enrolled at the included university provider.
The safest UK student cities during Freshers season
Rank | City | Nation | Safety score | Sep-Oct crimes | Crimes per 10,000 students | Violence | Antisocial behaviour |
1 | St Andrews | Scotland | 94.0 | 120 | 103.0 | 18 | 11 |
2 | Dundee | Scotland | 92.1 | 280 | 154.7 | 43 | 32 |
3 | Stirling | Scotland | 89.1 | 309 | 207.5 | 86 | 40 |
4 | Derry/Londonderry | Northern Ireland | 85.5 | 700 | 202.6 | 264 | 210 |
5 | Edinburgh | Scotland | 83.1 | 1,670 | 404.8 | 303 | 157 |
6 | Oxford | England | 82.7 | 1,096 | 401.6 | 301 | 83 |
7 | Durham | England | 81.9 | 720 | 323.9 | 196 | 165 |
8 | Bangor | Wales | 79.6 | 363 | 345.5 | 136 | 60 |
9 | Aberdeen | Scotland | 75.7 | 758 | 457.6 | 149 | 88 |
10 | Aberystwyth | Wales | 75.5 | 326 | 415.6 | 136 | 33 |
St Andrews takes the top spot with a safety score of 94 out of 100. Just 120 crimes were recorded across September and October 2025, working out at only 103 per 10,000 students, the lowest rate in the ranking, alongside 18 violent offences and 11 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Dundee follows in second place with a safety score of 92.1. The city recorded 280 crimes across the two months, equivalent to around 155 per 10,000 students, with 43 violent offences and 32 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Stirling completes an all-Scottish top three with a safety score of 89.1. Its 309 recorded crimes equate to around 207 per 10,000 students, while 86 violent offences and 40 antisocial behaviour incidents were recorded.
Derry/Londonderry is the highest-ranking destination outside Scotland, taking fourth place with a safety score of 85.5. It recorded 700 crimes across the Freshers period, or roughly 203 per 10,000 students, which is slightly lower than Stirling’s overall rate despite finishing one place behind it once violence and ASB are factored in.
Edinburgh ranks fifth with a safety score of 83.1. Its raw total of 1,670 crimes is considerably higher than the four cities above it, but against more than 41,000 University of Edinburgh students, that falls to around 405 crimes per 10,000.
Oxford is the safest English city in the ranking, placing sixth with a safety score of 82.7. It recorded 1,096 crimes across September and October, equivalent to around 402 per 10,000 students, while its 83 antisocial behaviour incidents are notably lower than several cities around it.
Durham follows in seventh with a safety score of 81.9. It recorded only 720 crimes in total, fewer than both Oxford and Edinburgh, and has a lower overall crime rate too at around 324 per 10,000 students. Its higher ASB rate relative to the cities immediately above it, however, pulls its final score down slightly.
Bangor is Wales’ highest-ranking student city, taking eighth place with a safety score of 79.6. Just 363 crimes were recorded during the period, or around 346 per 10,000 students, including 136 violent offences and 60 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Aberdeen comes ninth with a safety score of 75.7. The Police Scotland ward used for the analysis recorded 758 crimes, equivalent to around 458 per 10,000 students, with 149 violent offences and 88 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Aberystwyth rounds out the top 10 with a safety score of 75.5. It recorded just 326 crimes in raw terms, the third-lowest total among the top 10, although its smaller student population pushes that to around 416 crimes per 10,000 students. Its 33 antisocial behaviour incidents are also among the lowest in the leading group.
The most dangerous UK student cities during Freshers season
Rank | City | Nation | Safety score | Sep-Oct crimes | Crimes per 10,000 students | Violence | Antisocial behaviour |
1 | Leicester | England | 9.3 | 3,114 | 1,868.0 | 915 | 445 |
2 | Bradford | England | 9.4 | 2,523 | 2,122.8 | 894 | 212 |
3 | London | England | 10.7 | 11,186 | 2,388.6 | 1,494 | 1,201 |
4 | Brighton | England | 11.1 | 2,763 | 1,549.2 | 737 | 480 |
5 | Bristol | England | 14.1 | 4,320 | 1,372.1 | 1,187 | 774 |
6 | Wrexham | Wales | 17.2 | 1,067 | 1,246.5 | 376 | 123 |
7 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 20.3 | 2,877 | 1,137.4 | 756 | 921 |
8 | Plymouth | England | 21.1 | 1,922 | 1,006.5 | 752 | 382 |
9 | Derby | England | 21.8 | 2,277 | 1,086.6 | 776 | 335 |
10 | Newcastle | England | 22.0 | 2,796 | 1,024.9 | 854 | 586 |
At the bottom of the table, Leicester finishes in 47th place with a safety score of 9.3. The city recorded 3,114 crimes during the Freshers period, including 915 violent offences and 445 antisocial behaviour incidents. While its overall rate of around 1,868 per 10,000 students is lower than both Bradford and London, the combination of all three crime measures leaves it with the lowest overall score.
Bradford ranks 46th with a safety score of 9.4. Its 2,523 crimes translate to around 2,123 per 10,000 students, the second-highest student-adjusted rate in the entire ranking, with 894 violent offences recorded.
London takes 45th place with a safety score of 10.7 and records by far the largest raw crime total in the study, at 11,186 offences. Against UCL’s enrolment, that is equivalent to around 2,389 crimes per 10,000 students, almost six times Oxford’s rate and more than 23 times St Andrews’.
Brighton ranks 44th with a safety score of 11.1. There were 2,763 crimes recorded across September and October, which works out at around 1,549 per 10,000 University of Brighton students, alongside 737 violent offences and 480 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Bristol follows in 43rd with a safety score of 14.1. The city recorded 4,320 crimes, including 1,187 violent offences and 774 antisocial behaviour incidents. Its overall rate of around 1,372 crimes per 10,000 students is nearly four times Bangor’s.
Wrexham is the lowest-ranking Welsh city, placing 42nd with a safety score of 17.2. Its raw total of 1,067 crimes is lower than every other city in the bottom 10, but the city’s much smaller student population means that still equates to around 1,246 crimes per 10,000 students.
Belfast takes 41st place with a safety score of 20.3, a sharp contrast with Derry/Londonderry’s fourth-place finish and score of 85.5. Belfast recorded 2,877 crimes during the same two-month period, including 921 antisocial behaviour incidents, the highest ASB total in the bottom 10 outside London.
Plymouth ranks 40th with a safety score of 21.1. Despite having a slightly lower overall crime rate than both Newcastle and Derby, at around 1,007 per 10,000 students, its 752 violent offences weigh more heavily in the final ranking.
Derby sits just above it in 39th with a safety score of 21.8. Its 2,277 recorded crimes work out at roughly 1,087 per 10,000 students, with 776 violent offences and 335 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Newcastle ranks 38th with a safety score of 22 out of 100. The city recorded 2,796 crimes during September and October, equivalent to around 1,025 per 10,000 students, including 854 violent offences and 586 antisocial behaviour incidents.
Ben O’Brien, Managing Director at ID Card Centre, said: “What this shows more than anything is how different the Freshers experience can be depending on where you go to university. The places at the top are mostly smaller student cities, while quite a few of the big nightlife destinations sit much further down.
“That probably isn’t a coincidence. Somewhere like St Andrews has a very different city centre to London, Bristol or Newcastle. There are fewer people passing through, less late-night footfall and generally less going on in a much smaller area. In a bigger city, students are sharing that space with commuters, tourists, shoppers and a much larger nightlife crowd, so naturally there’s more opportunity for crime to be recorded too.
“It’s also interesting that the ranking changes once you look at crime against the size of the student population rather than just the raw numbers. Aberystwyth, for example, only recorded 326 crimes across the two months, but because its student population is much smaller it finishes tenth rather than right at the top. That’s why we wanted to look beyond simply saying which city had the most or least crime.
“None of this means students should choose a university based on a crime table, and being lower down certainly doesn’t mean you’re going to have a bad or unsafe experience there. These are busy city-centre areas and the figures cover everyone using them, not just students.
“But Freshers is probably the point when students know their surroundings the least. You don’t necessarily know which route home is best yet, who actually lives in your halls or where you last put your student ID after a night out. That’s when the simple stuff matters: keep hold of your phone and cards, don’t lend out access passes, and be a bit careful about who you let into accommodation, and report an ID card quickly if it goes missing.”
