Four Universities Join Elite Russell Group

The Russell Group, set up in 1994 and named after a London hotel where university heads held meetings, is the representative of some of the biggest names in higher education. The expansion of this group has been at the expense of the 1994 Group, which is characterised by research-intensive institutions, often with a particular specialism.

The 1994 Group issued a statement expressing its disappointment. Other mission groups include Million+, representing new universities, and Guild HE, representing specialist vocational institutions and University Alliance for business-focused universities.

The Russell Group represents some of the most prestigious universities in the UK - and will now have 24 members. The group's chairman Michael Arthur said the universities shared a "critical mass of research excellence across a wide range of disciplines". These four institutions have left the 1994 Group of universities. A majority of universities in the UK now belong to one of the so-called "mission groups". These mission groups have become part of the politics and marketing of higher education.

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