THE highest earners in Bolton's education sector have been revealed.

The University of Bolton’s vice-chancellor is the highest paid education official in the town earning just short of £230,000 per year.

New figures also show that in the financial year 2013/14 there were six schools in Bolton with a member of staff earning £100,000 or more each year.

The figures were collected by the Taxpayer’s Alliance through Freedom of Information requests and the scrutiny of accounts.

The schools in question include Rivington and Blackrod High School, Thornleigh Salesian College, Mount St Joseph’s, Westhoughton High School and Essa Academy.

The data refers to workers' remuneration — which the Taxpayer’s Alliance defines as “salary, fees, allowances, bonuses, benefits in kind, compensation for loss of office and employer pension contributions”.

The University of Bolton’s vice-chancellor — Prof George Holmes — was paid £229,400 in 2013/14, a salary the university said is below the national average for such a position.

During the same period, the university also had three members of staff earning more than £100,000.

A spokesman for the university said: “The pay for vice chancellors reflects the significant responsibility and demands of the role in an increasingly competitive sector — for an organisation which contributes well in excess of £1 million per week to the Bolton economy the salary of its Chief Executive could hardly be regarded as excessive.

“With only three senior staff paid in excess of £100,000 a year, this remains again at a significantly lower level than the number of such post holders at many universities, and reflects the average wage for the job in the sector.”

The university said that since Prof Holmes’ appointment 10 years ago, he has overseen a “dramatic turnaround” in the fortunes of the establishment and has increased cash reserves to more than £20 million.

But a spokesman for the University and Colleges Union said the salary being paid to Prof Holmes was “unacceptable”.

He added: “While pay for most staff is falling in real terms and students are taking on massive debts to attend university, it is unacceptable that vice-chancellors like George Holmes should continue to enjoy rising six-figure pay packets and other benefits.

“That’s why UCU is calling for a national register of vice-chancellor pay and perks to ensure transparency and accountability in our higher education institutions.”

The Bolton News contacted the six schools featured in the report for a response, but has so far received no comments.

Julia Simpkins of the Bolton branch of the National Union of Teachers said the pay packets of some school staff are “incredibly disproportionate”.

She said: “These pay packets are going mainly to people who run large secondary schools, while the majority of teachers in both primary and secondary schools will be lucky to receive £30,000.

“For someone on the staff to earn four times that amount seems very unfair — particularly when many schools in Bolton have had to undergo restructures which have seen teachers either lose their jobs or have allowances taken away.”