Building Community: new Headteacher

Being a good headteacher of a large secondary school requires a number of important qualities and I saw these in abundance when I met the new Head of The Buckingham School on Tuesday morning. Andy McGinnes is brimming with an infectious and inspirational vision of his school in the future. Put simply, Andy wants the school to become the community school of choice for every young person and parent/carer in the locality. This means, he knows, that there is much work to do to build on his predecessor's achievements and create a school in which even more children get even better results. He also wants the school to become a place that all students will grow to become great citizens and whole people.

And Andy struck me as the person who will make this happen: he has determination, authenticity and leadership to do so. He is very keen to reduce the churn of teachers in the school so that many more stay longer and build their understanding of the area and the children who come to the school. Andy knows that there is a already a great team of teachers, assistants and administrators in the school and he is committed to making that team even stronger. He intends to reboot and boost the house system in the school and deploy it to add more fun, positive rivalry and links between younger and older school students - and their teachers.

I am watching with interest as the school develops even further over the next few years with his leadership.