SENIOR staff at a dozen schools and colleges in Hampshire took home more than £100,000 in a year, it has been revealed.

Headteachers are among those who received more than £100,000 in the year 2013/14 when additional benefits including pension contributions were taken into account.

The figures were compiled by the Taxpayers Alliance through Freedom of Information requests, asking schools to reveal the number of high earners on their payroll.

They also submitted requests to universities in our region which showed at least one academic was handed a package worth more than £300,000 in one year.

That was at the University of Southampton where a further 15 staff took home more than £200,000, 79 received more than £150,000 and 120 staff were paid more than £100,000, according to the figures.

A spokesman for the university confirmed that the highest earner was the Vice-Chancellor whose salary was £280,000 which included a one-off non-pensionable performance payment of £30,875. His pension contribution for the year was £39,615.

He added: "The University of Southampton is a world-leading teaching and research institution with over 23,000 students and 5,000 members of staff. It is appropriate that senior managers and senior academics of such a large, complex and successful international institution are competitively remunerated.

"It is also important to point out that institutions like the University of Southampton, and other UK universities, receive considerably less income from the public purse year-on-year following numerous government reforms to the funding of higher education in recent years."

Southampton Solent University paid out at least £100,000 to seven staff that year with one employee paid more than £150,000 and one paid in excess of £200,000.

A spokesperson for Southampton Solent University said: “This survey shows that compared with other universities, the number of people earning over £100,000 is small. We have an established and rigorous system, including a remuneration committee, which reviews salaries for our senior staff. Information about staff salaries is readily available in our financial accounts.”

At Winchester University three members of staff were given a package that year which amounted to more than £100,000, one took home more than £150,000 and another more than £200,000.

In Southampton, Bitterne Park secondary school confirmed one staff member received more than £100,000.

Neither headteacher Susan Trigger or Southampton City Council as the Local Education Authority were able to provide a comment by the time the Daily Echo went to press.

Across Hampshire the following schools and colleges all had one member of staff who was paid more than £100,000; Barton Peveril, Bay House, Brookfield Community and Language College, Brockenhurst College, Hounsdown, Peter Symonds College, Priestlands, The Mountbatten School, The Romsey School, Thornden and Wildern.

When contacted Hampshire County Council, as the Local Education Authority, said according to their figures that only one teacher at a school in Hampshire was paid in excess of £100,000 according to their data, but that is not thought to include pension contributions.

The TPA only submitted FoI requests to secondary schools with around 1,000 pupils.

Schools contacted by the Daily Echo were unable to provide a comment.

According to the figures a total of 8,648 staff in the education sector in the UK received more than £100,000.

The individual who received the biggest remuneration package was an employee at the University of Oxford - £690,199.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will not begrudge an inspiring headteacher or world-class academic a good salary if they produce great results and motivate their students, but too often this is not what we find.

“Where institutions fail but financial rewards continue to flow to those at the top regardless, there is clearly a serious problem and taxpayers have every right to be concerned."