ALMOST half the headteachers in Cheshire have considered quitting their jobs.

The figure has been released after a survey by the Cheshire branch of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

The survey covers both primary and secondary schools and found that workload and stress were the main reasons that caused 48 per cent of heads to think about packing it in.

Tom Capper, Cheshire branch secretary, said: "These workload problems are felt everywhere equally since they are generated by central government."

"The Government's claim to have cut 4.5 million hours from the workload in the school system amounts to no more than three minutes a day for every head," he added.