Eastbourne school headteacher to step down

Mark Talbot is leaving his position at St Catherine’s College at the end of the school year in July to take up a post in September as chief executive of the trust which runs the school, the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust.

The trust has six academies, 3,000 pupils and 500 staff and Mr Talbot said it would be an opportunity for him to work with headteachers to “continue making a difference to young people within the multi-academy trust”.

In a letter sent home to parents, Mr Talbot said, “The governors, the trust and I will be working hard to recruit the very best headteacher for St Catherine’s.

“As chief executive officer of the trust, I will be based primarily at St Catherine’s and in my role I will be there to guide the new headteacher as required. We will be looking for a headteacher who will preserve our child-centred Christian ethos and is passionate about helping every child achieve his/her best in a safe and happy school.”

Mr Talbot took over the helm of what was then Bishop Bell School in 2014 and replaced long standing head Terry Boatwright.