THE row over red tape in Britain's schools took a new twist last night when a fed-up North-East head revealed he had quit his £31,000-a-year job to become a lorry driver.

Tim Gunn, a teacher for nearly 30 years, said the constant administration and management changes imposed on schools had forced him to look for a new direction in life.

Mr Gunn, headteacher at Wolsingham Primary School in Weardale, County Durham, for nine years, added: "All the fun has now gone out of education."

He has quit his post to take up a job as an HGV driver for Stillers Building Services in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

He said: "What has triggered my decision to quit is the way individuals in the education service are judged. There is a very narrow criteria and to succeed is a real problem.

"There is pressure from the local education authority with regard to results, league tables, numeracy and literacy.

"The system is now solely statistically based. We are faced with a bewildering array of constant change in administration and management."

Mr Gunn's bold bid to turn his back on education's increasing appetite for red tape came on the day that a blazing row erupted between Labour and Conservatives about the bureaucratic bind tying school teachers.

William Hague told the Politeia think tank in London that he could give schools an extra £540 per pupil by cutting education red tape.

Education Secretary David Blunkett dismissed the claims saying the Conservative leader was not telling "the whole truth" about his funding plans.

Headteachers' union representatives say their members are being pushed into an impossible position with mountains of bureaucracy now a millstone around their necks.

Senior staff now face more red tape than ever, despite assurances Mr Blunkett gave earlier this year that the amount of bureaucracy in education would be reduced.

National Association of Head Teachers North-East regional officer, John Heslop, said: "The amount of red tape is increasing dramatically. Mr Blunkett did say some time ago he was going to cut down on it, but since then there's been a massive amount of initiatives which have overtaken the situation.

"If a headteacher tried to do everything they are statutorily required to do, they would not succeed in doing it all. The whole thing is unbelievably impossible."

One County Durham headteacher said an eight-inch high pile of papers was on his desk awaiting urgent attention, but he did not have the time to address it.

Framwellgate Moor School headteacher Austin McNamara, who stood down as chairman of the Durham Association of Secondary Head Teachers last weekend, said: "It is very much to do with the pace of change and the increasing demands that are being placed on schools as a result of government initiatives and policy.

"We are finding we are being stretched and the amount of documentation that is coming into schools is immense.

"The job is becoming impossible. Heads find it very difficult to apportion their time to do their role. Most of us, when we came into the job, thought it was do-able. Many of us now are feeling that it is not."

The Department for Education and Employment believes Government education strategy is taking time to bed in but most teachers are responding positively.

A spokesperson said: "We appreciate the efforts that have been required by the teachers and, while it is disappointing to lose good teachers from the profession, we are doing everything we can to try to retain good teachers and reward them properly for the work that they do."

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