THE hospitality management department at Oxford Brookes University has been ranked in the top three hospitality schools in the world.

The university was honoured at the Worldwide Hospital School Awards held in Paris on November 14.

Out of 42 universities across the world Oxford Brookes came third, behind Netherlands-based The Hague Hotel School and France's The Vatel Group, who scooped the top prize.

Head of school at the Oxford institution Donald Sloan said: "The Oxford School of Hospitality Management maintains a strong ethos focused on delivering a very high quality student experience.

"My colleagues encourage and support students to meet their full potential, and help them develop the skills that underpin successful careers.

"In addition to pursuing challenging academic programmes, we ensure students are exposed to extraordinary co-curricular activities that give them fresh insights into current practice, whilst also developing their social and cultural capital."

Recent activities held by the school have included a social enterprise field trip to Kenya, to explore the positive impact of tourism business on those living in very challenging circumstances; and a culinary field trip to New Orleans, on which students were accompanied by chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Jeremy Lee.

The School’s Bacchus Mentoring Programme also received recognition at the Worldwide Hospitality School Awards, taking runner-up position in the ‘Best Innovation in Education’ category.

The programme provides all final year undergraduate students and all postgraduates students with one-to-one support from over 200 mentors, all of them senior figures from industry, and many of them alumni of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management.