DROP-out rates at the University of Bolton are thought to be among the highest in the country, according to a new league table

A table published by The Complete University Guide (CUG) shows that an estimated 28.9 per cent of students are expected to quit their studies.

The university is placed 122 out 127 universities for its overall score, as measured by The Complete University Guide, 2017. It was placed 121 in the 2016 tables.

The University of Bolton was quick to respond to the new league table. A spokesman said: "Unfortunately the report misses the point. Access to educational opportunity is an essential human right.

"Modern universities, like ours, are about giving people that opportunity. Universities with the lowest 'drop out' statistics achieve these statistics by excluding people prior to admission."

The table shows that the University of Bolton does well when it comes to student satisfaction which placed it 59 when measured on this score alone, and staff-to-student ratios, which placed it 60.

The University of Bolton was also in the top 55 universities for civil engineering.

The university found itself bottom of the North West universities, with Lancaster University ranked number one.

According to the statistics, the proportion of students expected to successfully complete their studies and gain a degree from the university stands at 71.1, with the maxim score being 100.0 indicating a 28.9 per cent anticipated drop out rate.

Only London Metropolitan University had a higher average estimated drop-out rate of 29 per cent.

The CUG said that it used Higher Education Statistics Agency performance indicators, based on data for 2014-15 and earlier years to compile the figures. It added the measure was vulnerable to statistical fluctuations.

Top of the 2017 league table are Cambridge and Oxford. London Metropolitan are at the bottom, ranked 127.

The league table is made up of nine indicators — entry standards, student satisfaction, research, graduate prospects, student staff ratio, spend on academic services, facilities spend, good honours and degree completion.

Dr Bernard Kingston, principal author of TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk said: "Last year’s Higher Education Green Paper, Higher education: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice, stated that applicants need access to robust, timely and objective information, based on criteria that are straightforward and easily understood.

“TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk meets these criteria and more and makes all of its information freely available so that students are able to make informed choices."