A headteacher has announced he is to quit to become the principal of a high profile new academy school.

Andy Schofield, who has been head at Varndean School in Balfour Road, Brighton, since 1999, will leave at the end of the term to take over at the new Wellington Academy in Wiltshire.

The academy has been sponsored by prestigious independent school Wellington College, in a move spearheaded by its master Anthony Seldon, the colourful former head of Brighton College and biographer to Tony Blair.

Mr Schofield said it had been a difficult decision for him to leave Varndean but he was excited by the opportunity.

The Wellington Academy has attracted particular attention because it will be the first in a rural area and will include 100 places for boarders because many of the pupils are from armed service families. The boarding unit will also offer places for children in care.

Mr Schofield has been in charge of Varndean during one of the most successful periods in the school's history, achieving record results and repeatedly featuring near the top of league tables.