THE arrival of a new head teacher at Thomas Hepburn Academy in Gateshead marks the start of a new, chapter in the development of the school, which only recently converted to an academy in October 2013.

Lesley Craig took up her post at the start of January and is already bringing a fresh approach to the curriculum with her passion for drama and the arts.

With a teaching career spanning 36 years, Lesley originally trained as a PE teacher and since then her career progression has seen her working for a private sector school in Spain, for the British Council, as head of special needs at a school in north London for ten years, as a deputy head in a challenging school in east Leeds and this latest position, makes it her third headship in the region.

Commenting on her new role, she said: “I am so proud to be here and feel very privileged to be appointed to such a wonderful school with great students and staff. This is a fabulous building and we have all the fundamentals in place to make Thomas Hepburn an outstanding academy. We just need to build on the positive things happening already and combine this with a dedication to hard work.

“I have some exciting plans which I will be announcing soon, which will see us engaging more with the community and extending our out of hours activities, but in the meantime, we will be continuing to work closely with our sponsor, Northern Education Trust, to improve our Ofsted rating - then we can start to climb higher and our students can show their true potential.”