Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
10
Mar 2023
New permanent headteacher chosen for St Aidan's in Harrogate
A new headteacher has been selected to lead St Aidan's High School from September.
The Harrogate school has appointed Siân Dover to the role, from her current post of principal of Oasis Academy Lister Park in Bradford.
She was previously part of the leadership team that saw Nidderdale High School ranked within the top 100 schools in the country for securing outstanding GCSE outcomes.
Mrs Dover said:
It will be the first time the school has been led on a permanent basis by a woman since its founding headteacher, Miss Hindmarsh, who was appointed in 1966.
Chair of governors Joanne Wicks said:
In a letter to parents, Mrs Wicks and Jane Goodwin, interim CEO of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, said the new head would bring "significant senior leadership experience and knowledge of the current education landscape".
They added:
Read more:
- Ten students at St Aidan's and St John Fisher associated sixth form get Oxbridge offers
- St Aidan's in Harrogate appoints interim head
The school said candidates from across the country applied for the role of headteacher when it was advertised in January.
Geography and PE graduate Mrs Dover was selected through a two-day assessment by its governing body and board of trustees, as well as the Diocese of Leeds. Pupils, members of the school leadership team, and other headteachers in the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust (YCST) were also involved.
Mrs Wicks and Jane Goodwin, interim CEO of YCST, said she would bring "significant senior leadership experience and knowledge of the current education landscape".
St Aidan's has been without a permanent head since December 2021, when Chris Burt left through ill health. He was replaced by Chris Ives as acting headteacher, before David Thornton was appointed last summer on an interim basis.
In recruiting for the role, St Aidan's acknowledged it had faced a "challenging" time over the last 18 months.
The school was rated inadequate in an Ofsted report published last January, following a visit by inspectors more than three months earlier. The report found four out of five areas to be ‘good’ but because the leadership and management were ‘inadequate’, the overall rating was also brought down.
However, a monitoring visit in May led Ofsted to return for a full inspection just two days later. The report, published in June, concluded the school was ‘good’, with pupil behaviour and its sixth form both rated ‘outstanding’.
Mrs Goodwin said the school was in "excellent hands" under Mr Thornton until September, and thanked him for his leadership while St Aidan's waited for the "right moment" to recruit its new head.
0