Gay pride flag flying at our Colchester Campus.

Essex has been named as one of the best universities in Britain for lesbian, gay and bisexual students.

The university scored full marks in Stonewall’s Gay By Degree 2015, the only online guide showing how gay-friendly the UK’s 158 universities are.

Gay By Degree 2015 measures each university against ten criteria to show how well they support their gay students. The checklist includes whether the university has a policy to tackle homophobic bullying, whether there are societies and events for gay students, and what steps they take to support gay staff.

Essex is one of just six universities in Britain to meet all ten criteria. Other top-scoring universities include Cardiff University, Sheffield Hallam University, York St John University, Liverpool John Moores University and University of Glasgow.

University of Essex Students’ Union President Chantel Le Carpentier said: “We’re so proud to have earned 10/10 in Gay by Degree 2015. It’s extremely important all our students are as happy as they can be, and that they feel comfortable and safe on campus. All of our clubs and societies are given equality training to make sure that everyone can be really involved in University life and get a great experience.”

Essex has also been recognised for its commitment to equality, becoming one of just five universities to receive a new award for advancing gender equality in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Last week the University received the Equality Challenge Unit’s Bronze Institution Award in its trial Gender Equality Charter Mark scheme(GEM), the first award scheme of its kind for these disciplines.

It follows Essex's success a year ago in achieving an Athena SWAN Bronze Institution award, which recognises commitment to advancing women’s careers in science.