Desperate climbing

Kingston is in the top 500 in the World University Rankings, crows our VC. The University actually lies in position 471 to 480 (exactness obviously not important down there), largely on account of our fashion school. This puts Kingston in the 4^th quintile, so a success of sorts? But such a position in a table that must surely be the most ridiculous of all tables — a vehicle to boost the boasting rights of Harvard, Cambridge and the rest — is hardly something to get exercised about, unless there is little else going for you. That Ratty should big up this result so noisily suggests he knows things look bad for him.