Head teacher of a Leicestershire secondary school steps down for "personal reasons"

The head teacher of a Leicestershire secondary school has left for "personal reasons". Liz Hall stepped down from her post at Longslade Community College, in Birstall, last Wednesday. No other details have been revealed about her departure. Interim head Kirstie Black, previously head at the Melton Vale Post 16 Centre (MV16), has now taken over the role. She had already been working alongside Ms Hall to raise standards at the school, which recorded poor GCSE results last summer. The Government benchmark states that at least 40 per cent of students must gain five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths. However, only 39 per cent of pupils achieved this at Longslade. Mrs Black had been assisting the school as part of a partnership with the Belvoir and Melton Academy Trust (BMAT), made up of Belvoir High School and MV16 following a request by Leicestershire County Council. She said: "We were working hard to make the necessary changes and will continue along that path despite Ms Hall leaving for personal reasons. "The partnership between the trust and Longslade was set up for the long haul and was never intended to be a one-term only arrangement. "I'm very excited about taking up this post and looking forward to getting on with the job. We want to create a school that students and the local community can be proud of. "It's about raising standards and we're confident that by the time next year's results come out, we'll have made a significant difference." The school's curriculum will be revised for those entering year 10 next academic year, with fewer options available and more emphasis on the core subjects of maths, English and science. Weaker students are also being identified earlier, and are being set firm targets with more opportunities to revise and catch up. In addition, a formal school uniform is being introduced from September for years 10 and 11. Mrs Black said: "We are in the early stages of deciding what this will look like, but we want to restore a sense of pride and give pupils a strong sense of identity too. "We're very aware of the economic situation at the moment so whatever we choose will have cost in mind." Jon Sherwin, executive principal for BMAT, said: "We'll also be asking parents what they would like to see in the school in the future. The partnership already has a strong track record of achievement as far as results are concerned and we believe we can get this school on track. "Letters have been sent out to parents to tell them about our plans and meetings have been set up for them to come and ask us any questions they wish. "We want to move this school forward and could potentially make this partnership more permanent in the future. "However, our top priority right now is to improve results. We have a great site here and some fantastic pupils. We want to make sure they have the highest expectations possible and go onto achieve their very best." Longslade's last full Ofsted inspection took place in September 2009 when it was rated "good". Another inspection is expected shortly. A meeting for parents of children starting the school in September will take place on May 2 at the site, in Wanlip Lane, and May 8 for parents with children already there. Both meetings will start at 6.30pm.