Headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough leaves after 15 years

Carl Sugden, headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough, will leave tomorrow after 15 years in charge of the secondary school.

Mr Sugden first came to Knaresborough as deputy headteacher aged 33 in April 2000.

He left in 2005 before relinquishing his role as head of Sherburn High School, at Sherburn-in-Elmet to succeed David Hudson as headteacher of King James’s in 2008.

The 1,575-pupil Knaresborough school was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted this year.

Clare Martin, principal of Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, will succeed Mr Sugden as head at the start of the summer term on April 17.

Mr Sugden said he had totted up that he had done about 600 assemblies, 400 staff briefings, 13 founder’s says, 80 prize-givings and 2,500 bus duties, adding:

“And I even managed to keep teaching history until just about the end. That is what I will miss the most, being in the classroom with our young people.”

Mr Sugden said:

“The school is a great community and there is a special history and ethos here, which I have tried to nurture and to maintain.

“I’m immensely proud of what this school has achieved, with the support of many great colleagues, over the past few years. In particular the challenges of the pandemic, and the post pandemic, which  stretched us to the limit.

“When you look back at the last three years it is incredible what we all dealt with; lockdown, key workers’ children supervision, online learning, lateral flow tests, bubbles, centre assessed grades, masks and vaccinations.”

Read more:

He said that for all the challenges, he didn’t regret a moment:

“It has been fulfilling and I am grateful to have worked in such a vibrant education community. I am not retiring, I will continue to work in education, but I plan to have a little more time to do some of the things I enjoy.”

Mr Sugden praised colleagues for “doing a pretty amazing job, going above and beyond to deliver a very high quality of education and enrichment opportunities” despite “extreme funding pressures”.

He wished Ms Martin well.

“Clare and I worked together back in the early 2000s, when she was, like me, a young teacher at King James’s.

“She has a strong track record as a deputy head and headteacher in schools in Leeds and Bradford. I wish her all the very best in the new role.”

 

 

Knaresborough teacher assault: all 4 girls arrested released without charge

All four girls arrested after a teacher was assaulted at King James’ School in Knaresborough have now been released without charge.

North Yorkshire Police said in an update today a 16-year-old who was arrested several hours after the incident on suspicion of affray had now been released on bail.

Police previously said a teenage girl arrested for an alleged assault on a female member of staff and criminal damage shortly after the incident had already been released on bail.

They also revealed two other teenage girls arrested for breach of the peace had been “de-arrested and taken home”.

None of the girls who were arrested is from King James’ School.

Police were called to the school at 3.10pm on Monday when a gang of girls from another school caused a disturbance.

Today’s update said investigations were continuing.

Read more:

Headteacher Carl Sugden (pictured above) wrote to parents after the incident saying the girls “came onto the school site with the clear intention of causing trouble”.

Mr Sugden added:

“Our staff were on hand to stop them, they did not gain access to the building, but unfortunately we needed some police support to remove them.

“There were a number of police vans on site at the end of school and this caused some disruption to the end of the day.

“I can assure you that none of our pupils were involved in this poor behaviour and these young people are not known to us.”

Knaresborough teacher assault: fourth girl arrested but still no charges

A fourth girl has been arrested following yesterday’s assault on a teacher at King James’s School in Knaresborough.

Police were called at 3.10pm yesterday when a gang of girls from another school caused a disturbance.

A teenage girl was arrested for an alleged assault on a female member of staff and criminal damage but in an update this morning, North Yorkshire Police said she had since been released on bail.

Two other teenage girls who were arrested for breach of the peace had been “de-arrested and taken home” and would be “interviewed at a later date”, police said.

Today’s update also said a 16-year-old girl was arrested last night, several hours after the incident, on suspicion of affray and remained in police custody.

None of the girls who were arrested is from King James’ School.

Carl Sugden King James' School headteacher

Headteacher Carl Sugden (pictured above) wrote to parents yesterday saying the gang of girls were “not connected to King James’s School” and “came onto the school site with the clear intention of causing trouble”.

Mr Sugden added:

“Our staff were on hand to stop them, they did not gain access to the building, but unfortunately we needed some police support to remove them.

“There were a number of police vans on site at the end of school and this caused some disruption to the end of the day.

“I can assure you that none of our pupils were involved in this poor behaviour and these young people are not known to us.”

Read more:

Police enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information can make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101, option 1.

The crime reference is 12230050161.

Knaresborough head responds to Ofsted report

The headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough has responded to the publication of the school’s latest Ofsted report this week.

Government inspectors visited King James’s School for the first time in six years in January and, in a report published on Monday, rated it once again as ‘good’ – a status it has maintained for over 20 years. 

Ofsted described the 1,575-pupil school as a “caring environment where pupils learn well” with “a strong focus on ensuring that everyone feels welcome”. 

It said the “vast majority of pupils are keen and engage confidently in their learning” and bullying is rare. 

Headteacher Carl Sugden said:  

“The strong curriculum, the expertise of the teachers and the caring environment are highlighted in the report.” 

Mr Sugden also noted that King James’s, in common with other schools, was still dealing with the educational and social impact of the covid pandemic, adding:

“I believe the report reflects the hard work and commitment of the staff at King James’s. It also reflects well on our wonderful pupils, the vast majority of whom work hard, show great resilience and humour and reflect our community values.”

He added the school acknowledged the areas of improvement identified by Ofsted and was already addressing them. 

 Ofsted said more should be done to provide support for the weakest readers, and more opportunities should be provided for pupils to experience the world of work. 

Mr Sugden said:

“We agree with these priorities and had already started working on these before the inspectors arrived.” 

King James’s was founded in 1616 by a charter from King James I, and is the Harrogate district’s second-oldest secondary school, after Ripon Grammar School, which was founded in 1555.

Read more: