Super head drafted in at Lymm High School

A ‘SUPER’ head with an outstanding track record of turning round problem schools is being drafted in at Lymm High School following the suspension of controversial Principal Angela Walsh.
Father-of-three Tarun Kapur, (pictured right) had already made a success of Ashton-on-Mersey Secondary modern school which was deemed ‘outstanding’ under his leadership in two consecutive Ofsted reports.
He was then tasked with taking on Broadoak High School in Partington, where he quickly managed to bring about improvements in standards.
His success led to his winning a top educational award – the Royal Air Force Award for Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School.
Mr Kapur was then asked to head up an interim leadership team at the crisis-hit Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury which was placed in special measures after Ofsted inspectors branded it ‘inadequate’.
Now he has been drafted in at Lymm High School where he will meet with governors, staff and parents in the coming days and then act as Executive Principal from September.
In a letter to parents Chair of governors Kieran Walshe and Vice Chair Rebecca Knowles said it had been unanimously agreed to ask Mr Kapur, Chief Executive and Academy Principal of the Dean Trust, comprising Ashton on Mersey and Broadoak Secondary Schools, to act as Executive Principal of the school from September 2013.
Mr Kapur is a very experienced Headteacher, whose leadership at Ashton on Mersey School has seen it rated as outstanding by OFSTED five times (most recently in 2013) and has seen an improvement at Broadoak School from “requires improvement” to “outstanding”.
He is a National Leader of Education for the National College for Teaching and Leadership, which means he is often asked to work with schools at times of leadership challenge and transition.
He worked in the Warrington area earlier in his career, and knows Lymm High School well, not least because one of his daughters attended the school some years ago.
Mr Kapur has a keen interest in sport and the performing arts and he sees this as an integral part of the culture of an outstanding school as it helps to develop leadership and often changes lives. All of his schools are Specialist Sports Colleges like Lymm; however, his specialism is in raising and maintaining standards within a caring environment. He also sits on some high profile Boards including the Manchester United Foundation and the Football Foundation and has been recognised for his achievements through the Teaching Awards and the Honours system.
There will be open meetings for parents to meet with Mr Kapur and hear about how he and his colleagues approach school leadership.
Meetings have been scheduled to take place next Monday (July 8) in the Sports Hall, and will last about 45 minutes. The first meeting will be at 6.30 pm and the second meeting will be at 8.00 pm.
The letter concluded: “Finally, can we thank everyone in the community who has been in touch with the Governing Body over recent weeks, and all the school staff for their hard work and support. We know everyone has the interests of the school at the forefront of their minds, and we are listening carefully to your views in forming our decisions about the next stage in the life of the school. We are confident that you will want to work with us and Mr Kapur to ensure Lymm High School provides a world class education for all the young people it serves.”
Miss Walsh (pictured right) joined the school in September 2008 and hit the headlines within 12 months following the introduction of a controversial new school uniform policy, with pupils staging sit down protests and outrage from parents.
Staff morale has been low for some time, with significant numbers choosing to leave.
No further comment has been made on the future of Miss Walsh pending an ongoing investigation.