THE head teacher of the Sir John Colfox Academy is leaving the Bridport school after more than 10 years.

Current headteacher David Herbert has been at the school for 13 years, working on the leadership team, but will leave after Easter to become the principal of Budmouth College, which will be joining the Aspirations Academy Trust in September.

In a letter to parents, Mr Herbert said it was with ‘mixed emotions’ he was announcing his departure, but it was a challenge he ‘could not walk away from’.

“Leaving Colfox is going to be very difficult and those of you who know me best will know how much of ‘me’ I have invested in the school over the years”, he said.

“I am proud of what we have managed to achieve, and I would not wish my children to be anywhere else.

“However, it is now a sort of ‘now or never’ moment for me from a career perspective and after much consideration, I have decided to take up this new opportunity. I’ve always encouraged our students to be bold and seek out new challenges, it is my turn now.

“It feels like a good time to be moving on and Colfox is in a very strong position right now. Last year we recorded our third consecutive ‘good’ Ofsted and our exam results are now consistently strong at GCSE and A level.”

Mr Hoffman will be acting head after Easter and will work alongside Kay Taylor, executive principal of the Minerva Learning Trust, and former headteacher of the Sir John Colfox Academy.

Mr Herbert added: “I would just like to end this letter by thanking you for your continued support during my time at Colfox. Headship is not an easy job and the decisions you make often divide opinion.

“However, the positive letters, emails, phone calls and even conversations in Bridport market on a Saturday have easily outweighed the negative. This, I believe, is because of all the hard work of our brilliant staff and in particular the extra time that they give in the evenings, weekends, and holidays to provide an incredible extra-curricular programme.

“I have been privileged to visit schools all over the south west of England and I have yet to find one that offers a wide range of extra opportunities.

“So once again, thank you to them and long may it continue.”