University guides confirm our position as one of the UK's leading universities. The 2010 Virgin Guide to British Universities says that "Sheffield is a top university across the board". Teaching quality assessments rate our teaching very highly across a wide range of subjects, and official research assessments confirm our reputation as a centre for world-class research in many disciplines. We have nearly 25,000 students from 128 countries, and over 5,500 staff. The University of Sheffield is a popular choice with applicants for university places, and once they arrive our students enjoy the experience so much that many settle in Sheffield after they graduate. Our research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations. Our academic partners include leading universities around the world. International partnerships include Worldwide Universities Network (USA, Europe and China) and our partnership with Leeds and York Universities (the White Rose Consortium) has combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge. The University's history stretches back to 1828, when the Sheffield School of Medicine was founded, and our University Charter was granted in 1905.