Long hours, pay cuts, abusive parents – no wonder headteachers are quitting | Nick Smith

Fourteen years at a state secondary was enough for me. The government must act urgently to make school leadership an attractive career

• Nick Smith is a former headteacher

The record for the UK's longest-serving headteacher stands at 57 years. I had no desire to challenge this staggering feat of longevity, but I had always intended to remain in post until I reached the age of retirement. But after 14 years, and some way off retirement, I changed my mind.

I came across an old newspaper article written about my appointment in 2007 as headteacher of a state secondary school. The person staring out of the page looked ridiculously young and optimistic. But looking at myself in the mirror, I was unrecognisable, with sunken eyes and a haunted look about me. I required trousers with an elasticated waistband, shoes with cushioned soles, unfeasibly high levels of caffeine and a 5.15am wakeup call just to get me through the average schoolday.

Nick Smith is a former headteacher. He is the author of Head Trauma: The Bruising Diary of a Headteacher