A NEW head has been appointed at Colchester’s largest secondary school.
Philip Morant School and College went back to the drawing board and re-advertised for a Head of School after a previous hunt failed to attract a candidate up to the mark.
Governors have confirmed Catherine Hutley, currently deputy head teacher at Colne Community School and College, Brightlingsea, has landed that £100,000-a-year job.
She is due to start in September.
Her appointment came after two days of intensive interviews involving teachers, parent governors, pupils and a senior Essex education advisor.
Twenty-one candidates applied of which five had interviews on the first day and three of those, including Mrs Hutley, were called back for the second day.
Staff at the 1,600-pupil school were told of her appointment on Thursday.
Neil Jones, chair of the governors’ personnel committee, said: “We are looking forward to having clarity of who the leader is and all moving forward.
“I think we can look forward to morale improving - it will be on her agenda.”
Mrs Hutley has been working at the Rembrandt Way school two days a week for the last nine months.
She was brought over to the school by Nardeep Sharma, principal of the Colne School, in a bid to improve things.
Philip Morant received an Ofsted report last May saying it “requires improvement”.
Mr Sharma’s role, also at the school two days a week, has been as executive headteacher to help raise Ofsted standards.
In February, governors at Philip Morant advertised for an “amazing” headteacher and offered a £125,000 salary.
Rob James, 48, has been acting headteacher for the school, which 400 staff, since Mr Roger Abo-Henriksen retired last summer.
Mr James announced earlier this week he has taken on a new job as head at Ramsey Academy in Halstead, starting in September.
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