St John’s Academy names new principal – from an academy in Cornwall

The governors of St John’s Academy have named Mrs Nicky Edmondson as the school’s new principal.  She will move to St John’s from Penair School, a secondary academy with 1,100 students in Truro, Cornwall – she says she is ‘absolutely delighted to have been appointed’.

Making the announcement Mrs Jane Butler, Chair of Governors, said there had been a rigorous recruitment process with three days of interviews at the end of last month.  She said Mrs Edmondson brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Mrs Edmondson will take over the leadership of the academy – rated outstanding in all areas earlier this year – in September 2015 following the retirement of Dr Patrick Hazlewood who has been in the post for almost 20 years.

Mrs Edmondson was born in Hereford. She began her career as an English teacher at Saintbridge School in Gloucester in 1990. In 1998, she became head of English at Tewkesbury School and went on to become deputy headteacher of Kingsdown School in Swindon in 2001.

She was appointed Headteacher at Henry Box School, Witney in 2007, then moved to Cornwall in 2013 as Headteacher at Penair School, Truro.
Mrs Edmondson is married to an art teacher who retired when the couple moved to Cornwall.

The couple will return to this area next year to enable Mrs Edmondson to take up what she describes as “a dream job”:  “It is a privilege to be joining such an innovative, forward-looking school with an outstanding reputation as an international academy.”

“It was a real pleasure to meet the students and staff during my visit, and I am very much looking forward to working with them as well as parents and governors, as the academy moves into the next stage of its exciting development”.  

Mrs Butler said: “I believe that [Mrs Edmondson’s] strong track record will enable St John’s to maintain its position as an outstanding academy, while at the same time she will bring her own style of working, to the benefit of our students.”

Dr Hazlewood will retain close links to St John’s as he continues as Chief Executive of the Excalibur Academies Trust, of which St John’s is a founding member. Following Dr Hazlewood’s retirement as Principal at Easter next year, Senior Vice Principal Miles Whittaker will lead the academy through the summer term.