A BOLTON headteacher has called for the Government to get on with its work and let teachers get on with theirs.

And Turton High School head Frank Vigon warned that if the Government wants to stem the tide of teachers leaving the profession it must do more to reduce the strain placed upon staff through the constant introduction of new initiatives.

Speaking at the school's annual leavers celebration Mr Vigon said: "For once I will give the Government a different mid term report.

"Instead of the familiar 'must try harder' I would say 'could do better if they got on with their own work and stopped interfering with others!'"

Mr Vigon used the opportunity to congratulate successful GCSE and A Level students. This year Turton enjoyed its best ever results with the number of passes at GCSE well above the national average.

The school, which has earned the title of specialist Media Arts College, is currently awaiting the opening of a number of exciting new developments including a £1.8m media centre, conference centre and sixth form block.

Mr Vigon said: "Much has been achieved but I wonder what else might have been achieved if some situations had been different."

Referring to a recent Government announcement that it had successfully recruited 10,000 new trainee teachers Mr Vigon said: "I am far more concerned with the underlying figures for secondary school teachers which indicate that at the end of their training a large proportion do not go into teaching and of those who do, another large proportion drop out within three years."

He added: "It is clear why such problems exist, the excess amount of bureaucracy that still exists in education.

"The endless number of changes and initiatives which all good schools would take on but which in turn take an alarmist toll on the health and of staff and pupils alike."

Mr Vigon had particular praise for staff in coping with this year's heavily criticised AS Level exams which saw some pupils having to sit up to eight hours of exams in one day.

Others were forced to stay away from home for a night to be away from colleagues who had sat the same exam the previous day.

And one Bolton secondary school had to call students in to sit exams over the weekend to accommodate a full-to-bursting timetable.

He said: "The Government in its haste to raise standards are in danger of reaching critical mass in which the excellent concepts behind the AS reforms are in danger of being lost."

Mr Vigon continued that the National Curriculum, Key Stage Tests and other reforms were in danger of stifling the enthusiasm of all in the classroom.

He welcomed a Government initiative which has seen the vast majority of a school's annual budget taken out of the control of the Local Education Authority and into the hands of schools.

But he urged the Government to give schools the same independence in the classroom.

"Education needs vitality," he said. "It is time to restore excitement in the classroom," he said. "Pupils and teachers need opportunities to explore and discover beyond the examination and the specified curriculum."

Mr Vigon's comments have been welcomed by teaching union officials in Bolton.

Barry Conway, the town's representative for the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: "All too often people tend to keep their head's down and get on with it and sooner or later the whole thing is going to unravel which will be to the detriment of teachers, pupils and of course parents.

"Mr Vigon is absolutely right about the burdens placed on teachers and at times the education system is more akin to a production line than broad-based learning."

However, he added: "We must disagree with his comments welcoming more financial control being passed to school. The union believes that the only way we can have a truly accountable education system is for the LEAs to take back some of the responsibilities that have been taken from them."