Leadership Changes

The Olympus Academy Trust: Recent Leadership Changes

We are facing significant changes in leadership within our Olympus secondary settings this summer due to departures, promotions and delayed opening dates. Having recently conducted a recruitment process for the Lyde Green Headteacher post, we know that we have strong senior leadership talent within the Trust and we also know that it is generally difficult to attract strong external candidates for headship posts across the country at present. One of the benefits of a multi-academy trust is the ability to appoint people to different settings, knowing that it should have a greater chance of success than an external appointment as there is already so much knowledge about the way the Trust works and an alignment with our shared values. One of our responsibilities as Trust leaders is to provide opportunities for growth and development for our staff.

Lyde Green Secondary School 

Headteacher Designate: Tom Hill from September 2022, with the role planned to begin when we start recruiting the first cohort of Year 7 students. As Tom is a member of the Olympus Central School Improvement Team he will be able to work on aspects of the Lyde Green development, such as input into design and building meetings and connecting with local primary schools, families and community groups, alongside his current role.

Winterbourne Academy

Headteacher: Victoria Boynton from September 2022 but working alongside Jason Beardmore from now on with a focus on preparation for the next academic year. Jason Beardmore is leaving in August 2022 after 4 years in post to pursue other opportunities closer to his family home in Devon. We will be able to share details of the recent Ofsted inspection at Winterbourne Academy in the coming weeks, once the report has been published. Vic(toria) Boynton will step away from her role as Headteacher at Lyde Green to lead Winterbourne Academy on a permanent basis. The decision to step away from Lyde Green is in part related to the delay in building and opening as there is no funding for a Headteacher post in the interim and we need to deploy the skills of a Headteacher where they are needed now. Vic is excited at the new challenge ahead of her at Winterbourne and will still have close ties to Lyde Green, with Winterbourne Academy the likely post 16 destination for future Lyde Green students. The irony will not be lost on some that students who had hoped to start as Year 7 Lyde Green students in temporary accommodation in Winterbourne this September will now become Winterbourne students and will have the same Headteacher they would have had if Lyde Green had opened.