The University of Essex is a public research university in the United Kingdom with its main campus located close to Colchester, Essex. It was founded in 1963, and in 1965 it was granted a royal charter. The main campus of the university is situated in Wivenhoe Park in the English county of Essex, a short distance from the town of Wivenhoe and two miles (3.2 km) from Colchester. The East 15 Acting School is located in Loughton, and in addition to the Wivenhoe Park site, there is a rapidly expanding facility in Southend-on-Sea, the county seat of Essex. The Battle of Maldon, an Anglo-Saxon ballad, served as the inspiration for the university's motto, "Thought the harder, heart the keener." The university has working relationships with other institutions in the eastern region. These include Writtle College, South Essex College, Colchester Institute, Kaplan Open Learning, and University Campus Suffolk. With students from 132 different nations, the university has an international vibe. With more than 90% of its research receiving international acclaim for its quality and 22% being deemed "world leading," Essex was ranked ninth in the UK for the quality of its research in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in 2008. The university is regarded by the QS World University Rankings as a global leader in social science with widely acknowledged humanities capabilities.