New headteachers at Didcot's two secondary schools vow to raise ratings (From The Oxford Times)

New headteachers at Didcot's two secondary schools vow to raise ratings

7:00am Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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THE two new headteachers recruited to run Didcot’s secondary schools have vowed to raise their Ofsted ratings to “outstanding”.

Didcot Girls’ School has announced that Rachael Warwick, deputy head at Bartholomew School, Eynsham, will take over from acting head Fernand Dierckens in September.

Meanwhile, Alwyn Richards, vice-principal of Thurston College in Suffolk, will replace St Birinus headmaster Chris Bryan, who is retiring after 31 years at the school.

Both come from schools rated “outstanding” by school inspectors, and have told the Didcot Herald they want to achieve the same top rating at their new schools.

Governors at the girls’ school interviewed six candidates, including Mr Dierckens, and announced Mrs Warwick’s appointment yesterday.

The English teacher, 40, said: “I am absolutely delighted.

“I worked at St Birinus 14 years ago in the English department and got to know the girls’ school fairly well because of the joint sixth form.

“I have always had very fond memories of Didcot and it is a school with massive potential.

“It will be very exciting for both schools.”

Her appointment comes a year after Ofsted downgraded the school from “good” to “satisfactory”. The governors and parents have praised Mr Dierckens for leading moves to tighten discipline and improve behaviour since September, following the retirement of previous head Paula Taylor-Moore.

Chairman of governors David Locke said: “Mrs Warwick is the right person to put Didcot Girls’ School back in its place as one of the premier schools in Oxfordshire.

“She shone as an exceptional candidate during all parts of the selection process and played a key part in guiding and developing Bartholomew School to be rated ‘outstanding’ during an Ofsted inspection.”

Meanwhile, fellow English teacher Mr Richards, 40, who also starts work in September, said there were “big shoes to fill” at St Birinus. The father-of-three said his priority would be to lead the school from Ofsted’s rating of “good with outstanding features” to “outstanding”. He said: “My current school has just undergone this journey, and I know that if this is to be achieved, I will need to work very closely with parents and other members of the community. My family and I are hugely excited about moving to the area.

“The warmth of welcome we have received from staff and people within Didcot has been overwhelming. September 2010 cannot come quick enough.”

Mr Bryan, 60, is retiring after 22 years as headteacher at the boys’ school, having first worked there in 1979.

Since then, it has grown from 650 pupils to 1,250, set up a combined sixth form with the girls’ school and opened purpose-built facilities for music, maths, humanities and learning support, as well as a state-of-the-art £4.7m science centre.

He said: “Every single year has been an enjoyable one. It has been a tremendous opportunity over the years to have real influence on people’s lives in order that they can move on to higher education or employment. I think it is the right time for me to be handing over to someone else as far as the school is concerned.”