The man in charge of educating 50,000 children in Brighton and Hove is to become the head of one of the country's largest teachers' organisations.

David Hawker will quit his job as the the director of children, families and schools for Brighton and Hove City Council next year to become the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).

With more than 30,000 members, the 107-year-old NAHT is the largest organisation of its kind in Europe and the second largest in the world.

Its members are heads and deputies in primary, secondary and special schools.

Mr Hawker, 50, is married with two teenage children who attend schools in Lewes. He trained as a language teacher at Oxford University and taught in comprehensive schools for eight years before working at the Institute of Linguists.

He became a local education authority adviser in Yorkshire for three years before coming to Brighton and Hove in 1999 as director of education.

In 2002, the council combined its schools and social care departments into a new children, schools and families department.

Mr Hawker will continue to live in the county and will take up his post as one of the country's most prominent education spokesmen from Haywards Heath. He said lessons he had learnt in Brighton and Hove would help him with his new role.

He said one of the main achievements was the creation of the children, families and schools directorate.

He said: "I say it many, many times that if we are going to design a service to support children and young people in a city like Brighton and Hove, you don't want three separate services.

"You would design one service with three components and the best endorsement is what we've done here."

Mr Hawker is also proud of the city's development of "extended" schools, such as Falmer, which stay open longer than school hours, offering more services to include the community.

He said: "I've learnt a huge number of things while here about how organisations work and the need to put the people you are serving right at the centre of your concerns and making everything revolve around that.

"I have also learnt how to be bold and take risks and see what needs to be achieved and really drive for it. You don't get anywhere by being timid. Sometimes it gets you into trouble. I would rather get into trouble and achieve something than not get into trouble."

Mr Hawker's new role will be to head the organisation which works to help support its members as well as to contribute to the achievement of high standards of teaching and education in schools and colleges and lead on all educational issues.

Mr Hawker admits that during his time in Brighton and Hove he had made mistakes. He said: "I would be the first to admit it.

"If you are making mistakes as a prominent leader they are more obvious.

"I can say that everything I have done, I have done for the best of motives. Sometimes I haven't done the right things but when I leave here I shall be satisfied that I have done everything I could have done to improve things for children."

Mr Hawker will be in charge of a significantly smaller workforce in his new role - 70, rather than the 5,000 at the council.

He said: "It has been a fantastic place to work I've had an extremely good team. It really has been the best job I have ever done and the one I have been most committed to.

"Brighton and Hove is on the map. We are seen as a leading-edge authority. We have schools in the city which are quite amazing."