TOP marks to MP Tom Sackville, whose timely intervention earlier this year has finally put Bolton on track for university status.

As a Government minister, he had the opportunity to plead personally with Education Secretary Gillian Shephard to cut through the red-tape that had bound up Bolton's bid. Now the Government has cleared the way for Bolton Institute to become a university early next year. The news has delighted principal Dr Bob Oxtoby, who rightly recognises the long-term significance for the whole town. And we are more than happy to welcome the forthcoming move to put the area at the top of the education tree.

Might the prospect of this step up in status, however, also prompt the powers that be to reconsider Bolton's claim to city status? We hope so.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.