New heads at the helm in Midhurst
Primary schoolchildren at Midhurst and Stedham have started their new academic year with new heads at the helm.
Sally Dreckmann has moved only a few miles to take up her appointment as the new headteacher at Stedham Primary School.
Matthew Barnes has moved from Devon to become the new head at Midhurst after the retirement of Ken Ford last term.
Mr Barnes, 35, is married to Aimee a former teaching assistant, and they have three children - Amelia, five, who has started in Year 1 at her father's school, three-year-old Arthur, who is attending the Midhurst Nursery Class, and six-week-old Thomas.
This is Mr Barnes' fourth headship. At 27 he was seconded as acting head to Parkham School near Great Torrington. He later became head of Bradford Primary School near Holsworthy and took Bridgerule School under his wing when the two formed a federation.
Mr Barnes said he was attracted to the Midhurst area because he had family in Farnham.
"Also I was looking for a change of challenge. One of the big bees in my bonnet is I believe very strongly in developing a 21st-century curriculum for children."
He said the rapid development of IT meant things quickly became out of date.
"We need to move our curriculum on to where we are giving children the skills they need to cope in the 21st century.
"They need to be grounded in the use of IT to facilitate their learning and grounded in their development as confident individuals with the personal skills they need to succeed."
For the past 12 years Mrs Dreckmann has been at Hollycombe School, Milland, the last seven of which as deputy head.
And throughout her career she has not ventured far at all from Midhurst, where she was born and brought up, and where her three children are now at school.
"I'm a real local," said the 37-year-old, with a hint of pride.
She succeeds Hazel Morley at Stedham. Mrs Morley retired at the end of the summer term.
Mrs Dreckmann is finding familiar parallels between her new school and Hollycombe.
"They are much of a muchness really, with a similar number of pupils and the same family feel," she said.
"There is a very supportive close community here which is important to the school. I can tell that already. I am really looking forward to working with everyone."
She added that one element which attracted her to her new job is it is part of the head's duties to teach all day on Fridays.
"I am inherently a teacher and I love teaching. It was a real selling point for me because it means I have a close contact with the children."
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Weather for Midhurst
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
