A top independent school is offering potential pupils a generous scholarship with a catch the recipient must be called Peyton.

Brighton College is looking for a boy or girl aged 13 to 18 with the unusual surname to take up a "virtually free" place at the school.

Staff have contacted all 600 Peytons in UK telephone books in an attempt to find a suitable beneficiary, but have had no luck so far.

The bizarre scholarship is funded by a six-figure bequest provided by Derek Wakehurst Peyton.

The former student died in 2002 and left instructions for someone of the same name to benefit from the education he received.

The £107,000 scholarship, for a girl or boy with the unhyphenated surname Peyton, covers schooling for all five years at the well-known secondary school.

However, since the will was announced, the school has searched in vain for a suitable beneficiary.

The previous headmaster Anthony Seldon wrote to all the Peytons in telephone directories but when new headmaster Richard Cairns took up his post, he noticed a big pot of money in the scholarship fund and decided to resurrect the search.

He has even resorted to looking on the search engine Google and the school is now widening the net to the United States and Australia.

Mr Cairns said: "It's intriguing and quite fun because it encourages us to think laterally to make sure we do find someone to fill this space. I think it is a terrible shame that we have the money available but we seem at a loss to find ourselves a Peyton.

"We do have a large number of boarders here so it seems sensible to extend our search beyond these shores."

In the last few days the school has discovered a Peyton society in Virginia, USA, and they have further contacts that the school is investigating.

Brighton College has even contacted the office of major American NFL player, Peyton Manning, to see if they are able to offer any leads.

To discourage possible opportunists who might change their name by deed poll, the rules state that the name Peyton must appear on the child's birth certificate.

Brighton College was founded in Brighton in the 1840s to educate the aristocrats at the court of King George IV who, as Prince Regent, made Brighton the centre of political and cultural life in Britain and built the Royal Pavilion.