A SURVEY showing London primary school headteachers salaries breaking the £60,000 barrier has prompted a teachers' union to call for better wages in the North-East.

The 17th annual round-up by Education Data Surveys (EDS) reveals several primary schools in the capital offer more than £60,000, but no North-East heads come near that figure.

John Hislop, secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said headteachers in the North-East need bigger incentives.

He said: "I cover the whole of the north of England from Whitby and Barrow-in-Furness northwards and I'm not aware of anyone earning anywhere near that.

"The average in this region will probably be about £40,000, but I do know of one primary school head who gets £52,000. But that is a massive school with all sorts of inherent problems associated with it.

"This survey is timely because the NAHT recently made representations to a Government school review panel, arguing on a number of points that the salaries of headteachers, deputies heads and assistant heads should be increased.

"If you compared even £60,000 to a similar-sized commercial enterprise, that would be laughed off the appointments page.

"The stresses and strains of the job are absolutely colossal. Because of the demands on them, many hit the wall and suffer burnout."

The pressures of running a primary school in the 21st Century are also reflected in another survey finding.

The number of headteacher posts for primary and secondary schools both fell, as did the number of candidates of the "right calibre" to lead a school.