A SCOTTISH university has been named as one of the best in the UK for lesbian, gay and bisexual students.

Glasgow University was praised in an online guide produced by campaigning group Stonewall, which shows how "gay-friendly" the UK's 158 universities are.

The university, which has been under fire over a culture of sexism in one of its student unions, was the only institution in Scotland to score full marks.

The Gay By Degree website measures each university against 10 criteria to show how well they support their gay students, with measures including whether they have a policy to tackle homophobic bullying, whether there are societies and events for gay students and what steps they take to support gay staff.

Only six universities in the UK met all the criteria, with the other top-scoring universities being Essex, Cardiff, Liverpool John Moores, Sheffield Hallam and York St John.

David Newall, sexual orientation equality champion for Glasgow University, said the institution had worked hard to ensure lesbian, gay and bisexual students had a voice.

He said: "I am delighted the university achieved top marks. This reflects hard work by staff to ensure there is a supportive, positive student experience.

"We are aware young students who come to the university may be unsure about their sexuality and may need support and we have put in place a direct route to the senior management so those issues can be heard and acted upon.

"There are still many challenges in this area, but we hope the Glasgow University experience is supportive and positive for all LBGT students. We have a very diverse campus here and we celebrate that diversity."

Vicky Leigh, campaigns officer from the student group LGBTQ+, which supports lesbian, gay and bisexual students at Glasgow University, said the university and a number of staff and student organisations worked together to ensure a supportive environment.

She said: "Attitudes are getting better in wider society, but people are not necessarily aware of all the orientations that exist and prejudice is still there. Within the university, if someone has a problem, we have avenues to raise concerns."

Hannah Kibirige, education policy officer for Stonewall, said prospective students who were lesbian, gay or bisexual wanted to study where they will be supported and developed.

She said: "It is particularly concerning that only 35 universities are monitoring students' sexual orientation, leaving them no way of telling if they are providing a positive experience for gay students.

"Universities also risk on missing out on a huge pool of talent with the vast majority failing to actively reach out to potential LGBT students or engage with the community on LGB issues.

"We hope this year's findings prompt action by the higher education sector to consider the needs of all their students, regardless of sexual orientation."

Last year, the Glasgow University Union (GUU) commissioned an independent review into the culture within its own organis­ation after two women taking part in a debate were subjected to sexist heckling.

The findings suggested sexualised behaviour such as groping and touching had become normal, with "some female students accepting the behaviour as part of membership of GUU".