School’s out for head teachers

10:50am Sunday 20th July 2008

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HE HAS been the head teacher at one of York’s largest secondary schools for more than a decade, but now he is signing off.

Hugh Porter, 56, who has been in charge of Joseph Rowntree School for 11 years, is now moving on to pastures new.

“It’s been a seriously wonderful time I have had here at Joseph Rowntree,” he said. “I believe teaching is one of the most important professions and we would only truly realise how important education was if it didn’t exist.”

Mr Porter was previously head teacher at Brayton High School for seven years.

Mr Porter said he included among his greatest moments since he arrived at Joseph Rowntree the school achieving technology college status and the plans to build a new school on the current site. A new £28 million school building will open at Joseph Rowntree in February, 2010.

Mr Porter feels now is the right time to move on to different challenges.

He said: “I timed my decision to go to allow the new head teacher time to prepare for the move into the new school, because a new school is more than a building and much more than just the physical move, it’s a new start.”

Mr Porter said he was not retiring, but he would be pursuing other avenues of employment.

He plans to spend more time walking and holidaying with his wife, Jane, starting with a three week holiday in China and Hong Kong in September. The school’s deputy head, Maggi Wright, will take over as head in September.

Meanwhile, at St Paul’s CE Primary Dchool in Holgate, head teacher Susan Mistry is retiring and leaving the school after 14 years as head.

Assistant head teacher, Adele Scanlan, said Mrs Mistry would be hugely missed, but that she had thoroughly enjoyed her time at the school and was particularly proud of all the work they had done in the arts.

A new head teacher, Richard Knowles, will take over from Mrs Mistry in September.

Elsewhere in North Yorkshire, Jenny Belsom, the head teacher at Terrington CE School is retiring after 18 years.

She said: “I have loved the job of being head of a village school.

“The changes I have seen have been enormous.

“We still had outside toilets when I came here.

“Now, after a huge refurbishment 18 months ago, we have a truly 21st century school.”