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The head of one of the UK’s top performing schools is quitting so that it can save his salary due to the Tory ‘post code lottery’ on education funding.

Howard Blindt, 53, has overseen good or outstanding results at Gainford primary school in Teesdale, County Durham during 15 years in the job.

It came in the top one per cent of primary schools nationally in recent written tests and received a letter of congratulations from Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb.

But Mr Blindt has decided to take the desperate measure of stepping down and sacrificing his own salary to save money.

He told the Mirror: “The rationale is not just about safeguarding the jobs of other staff although that is part of it. It may be that one job is saved, though it will depend how the new structure is put in place when I go.

“But it is also about protecting the future for our children. The cuts that so many schools are experiencing means less staff and less resources.

“It impacts on learning.

(Image: Googlemaps)

“You are expected to achieve the high standards demanded by Ofsted and the Dept of Education. There is always a hardship in the role of head but to me it has increased to the point of being impossible.”

He added: “If resources are under threat, I have said that I will go and I am prepared to do that even though I have done a good job.”

He has over seen four Ofsted inspections which have been good or outstanding. “We have a good school, with good experienced staff and they like to stay because I am so nice!,” added Mr Blindt, who has worked for Durham county council for 31 years.

“The aim of every school is to be a good school. That is the mantra these days. But it has to be good and cheap, or ‘cost effective’.

“We have lost two teaching assistants, but could have lost more staff. The national funding formula moving forward is so difficult to judge.

“I don’t know that I have necessarily protected the school from further cuts. But my stepping down has at least helped to mitigate that.”

A concerned local, who contacted the Mirror about Mr Blindt’s departure, said: “It is such a sad day for the school, a real sign of the times. It cannot be right that he is so successful, and yet has to go to save money.”

Mr Blindt said the schools budget had effectively been frozen for the past five years with more demands placed on staff due to changes in the curriculum. More experienced staff also inevitably leads to higher staff costs. His departure may ‘only’ save around £15,000-a-year.

(Image: Jack Taylor)

But that could safeguard the job of a teaching assistant. He turns 54 on the day he leaves school at the end of this term, and has not found a new job. He may look to the voluntary sector.

The National Union of Teachers claims small rural schools would be among the hardest hit under the Tories new funding formula.

Head teachers in England earn anywhere from £44,000 to £108,000, depending on experience and the size of the school. The average salary was put at around £52,000-a-year in recent surveys. Gainford has 84 children in total, 11 of them pre-school, with four separate primary age classes.

Last month, more than 500 heads warned the Government about the impact of £3billion of planned cuts which threaten to cripple schools. That number has now risen to 640.

The Dept for Education said school funding was at its highest level on record in 2016-17 with more than £40billion given out. But a spokesman added there was ‘broad consensus’ on the need for a fairer funding formula to bring an end to a postcode lottery.

“We recognise that schools are facing cost pressures, which is why we will continue to provide support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways, including improving the way they buy goods and services,” he added.