Head moves on from boys' school

Mrs Lees takes up new challenge

Report by Rhys Griffiths

A NEW challenge at a comprehensive school has lured a successful Dover head teacher away from the town.

Dover Grammar School for Boys head Sally Lees has revealed she will be leaving to take over the reins as principal at the Homewood School in Tenterden when the current academic year comes to a close.

The 52-year-old, who took on the top job at the Astor Avenue school in September 2004, told the Express she was excited about the fresh challenges which lie ahead in 2010.

“I will have been here six years,” she said. “The opportunity has come up for a very different sort of school, a wide ability comprehensive.

“It’s is a new opportunity and a new challenge which I’m very excited about, but it’s a mixed feeling because I have been very happy here and I will miss it very much.”

When she arrived at the grammar school in 2004, Mrs Lees set out with a clear agenda for her time in charge.

Her aim was to unlock the potential of the students and make sure they were achieving all they were capable of -a target she believes she has reached in her time there.

The last Ofsted inspection described the school as good with outstanding features, with the Government inspectors praising the leadership of the school under the head teacher.

Reporting inspector Samantha Morgan-Price said: “The school has inspirational leadership. The head teacher and senior team have a vision that is understood and shared by the school community.”

Mrs Lees, who lives at Great Chart near Ashford, knew there was potential when she took over and believes developing community ties and introducing an international dimension to the pupils’ experience have helped unlock it.

She said: “It was a school with lots of potential but it was not fulfilling it to the full. There were things which needed to be done to make sure students were achieving what they needed to achieve.

“The biggest achievement has been making sure our students believe in themselves and believe they can succeed.

“I will look back on so many happy memories of the staff I have worked with and I shall remember the students with great affection. I have enjoyed working with them all.”