BOLTON Institute is likely to be renamed the University of Bolton after education bosses said it was their favoured option.

A host of names had been put forward for the Institute in the wake of it being granted university status in April.

But University of Bolton -- a name in keeping with the traditions of most universities in Britain -- won.

It beat the second favourite, Bolton University. And it was also favoured above Bolton Institute University, West Pennines University, and Bolton Leverhulme University. Another name put forward was North Manchester University -- a move likely to have caused controversy among people keen for Bolton to keep its identity. The name change proposal is the result of a wide-ranging public consultation which recognised The University of Bolton as the most popular title choice. The board of governors has now put its selection to the Privy Council for a further short period of consultation with a range of bodies, including other universities in the region.

The North West's newest university cannot use the new name officially until The Privy Council gives final approval, but indications are there it is likely to be accepted.

The University of Bolton was chosen following discussions over the name change with Bolton Institute's local partners, students, staff and the public.

Principal, Mollie Temple said: "We are very pleased to know our new title and hope to be operating as The University of Bolton very soon -- that will be as soon as we hear from The Privy Council." "Our new name may seem the obvious choice but we were obliged to ask a wide range of people their opinion on what that title choice would be and we wanted to be sure that all options were seriously considered.

Katherine Wilkes, President of the Institute's Student Union said the news had been greeted with relief by students as the majority wanted Bolton to be in the title.

She said: "All the present students and the community will be pleased by the choice. A lot of people were worried that Bolton was going to be taken out of the title."

- so I'm glad it's Bolton."

It was feared that Bolton would not form part of the new title, following the lead taken by Preston Polytechnic when it became the University of Central Lancashire in 1992.

Bolton South-east MP Brian Iddon said it would have been "mad" if the University had no mention of Bolton.

He said: "They consulted me and I said I wanted Bolton in the title otherwise I would go up the wall. I was pretty certain they would choose University of Bolton."

"If they didn't have Bolton in the title they would have got into trouble. Just as Preston got in trouble when they named their university University of Central Lancashire. "Tensions still exist there to this day about that. The university has go to work with the town to get things like planning permission so it makes sense to maintain a good relationship." Bolton North-east MP David Crausby said: "It's fine as long as they have got Bolton in the title. I was a bit concerned they were going to leave Bolton out - which would have been disgraceful. "I am sure this will raise the profile of the town. University status is a tremendous boost from Bolton's point of view. In the interest of Bolton and the Institute this is good news all round. I hope this will help with city status bid."