A UNIVERSITY nursing school threatened with closure is officially one of the two best in the UK, a new league table says.

Glasgow University’s School of Nursing and Health Care has come second out of 78 in the rankings, which measure teaching quality and student satisfaction.

The table, compiled and published by the Guardian newspaper, comes as university officials decide whether to close the school as part of cost-cutting measures.

Yesterday, The Herald revealed an expert panel from the institution has recommended closure, although no decision will be made until next year after a Scotland-wide review of nursing education.

Lorraine Smith, Professor of Nursing at Glasgow University, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see the school so close to the top of the league table … This is a visible endorsement of our reputation for excellence, which is backed up by the fact that all our students go into employment at the end of their studies.”

Meanwhile, the threat of compulsory redundancies at Glasgow Caledonian University has been lifted.

Earlier this year, the university planned up to 95 redundancies in moves to restructure its administration services.

However, officials said it was close to meeting a £5 million savings target through voluntary means.

University principal Professor Pamela Gillies said: “We are delighted to entirely remove the risk of compulsory redundancy from all parts of the university in relation to this necessary restructuring exercise.”

Unions welcomed the announcement, with Dr Nick McKerrell, convener of the university’s combined union committee, saying: “This is a big victory for the union’s action over the last three months. Trade union members were not prepared to accept the threat of compulsory redundancies and made their voices heard loud and clear.”