A headmaster was sacked from his job at a top catholic school before he even started because the governors discovered he had split up with his wife.

Christopher Belli, 38, was offered the top job at Corpus Christi RC High School in Cardiff in February following a lengthy recruitment process.

But governors at the faith school suddenly retracted their offer citing “marital reasons”.

After learning that the experienced teacher’s marriage had broken down they decided they no longer wanted him at the school.

The decision was criticised by the National Secular Society who say it makes “a mockery of equality laws”.

The organisations president Terry Sanderson said: “It is disgraceful that state schools are permitted to use public money to enforce this kind of religious correctness.

“There had been a long, drawn out selection process before Mr Belli was offered the job.

“Unless there is something illegal about his marital situation there can be absolutely no excuse for withdrawing a job offer from him if he had been adjudged the best candidate for the role.”

“If this happened to Mr Belli in a community school, he would have strong grounds for a legal challenge.

“But because it is in a faith school he has no protection at all.”

Father-of-two Mr Belli applied for the post, paying up to £87,000-a-year, after head David Stone retired due to illness.

He had been due to leave his teaching post in England to join the school in the summer.

But his contract was withdrawn by the 1,000 pupil school less than two months after his appointment after it emerged he was no longer with his wife.

A meeting was called earlier this month to inform staff that Mr Belli would not be taking the job.

School governors are permitted by law to appoint only practising Catholics to senior roles and headteachers are expected to abide by Catholic principles.

Chairwoman of governors Kath Brown said: “Due to the marital position of Mr Belli the school had decided it is not appropriate for him to assume the headteacher post.”

Mr Belli’s family is from Pontypool, just 25 miles outside of Cardiff, and he went to university in the Welsh capital.

Corpus Christi, which takes Catholic pupils aged seven to eleven, has put in place a set of temporary arrangements.

Head of religious education Pat Pavlovic will assume the role of acting deputy headteacher until a new appointment is made.

Anne Robertson, schools director for the Archdiocese of Cardiff, said the decision taken by Corpus Christi governors was “relatively unusual” but not unprecedented.

She said: “There have been issues before and things change in personal circumstances for all sorts of reasons.”