A new academy school is offering a pay packet of £125,000 plus benefits to attract a “superhead” to be its first principal.

The wage being offered by Littlehampton Academy will make whoever takes up the role the highest paid headteacher in Sussex by a significant margin, and put them among the top public sector earners overall.

The top salary heads can earn on the main national pay scale is £98,000.

The previous highest paid teacher in Sussex was Peter Evans, the now retired head of Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Hove, whose £105,000 recognised work as a consultant for Brighton and Hove City Council as well as his usual responsibilities.

Woodard Schools, the Christian education organisation which is sponsoring the Littlehampton Academy with West Sussex County Council, said the salary reflected the fact that the principal would be responsible for a school and sixth form of around 2,000 pupils It said it wanted to recruit someone who had the right attributes to lead the academy replacing Littlehampton Community School.