Acting head bids fond farewell to Grammar
The acting head teacher who led Campbeltown Grammar School to have ‘a clearer sense of direction’ and ‘higher confidence’ has said a fond farewell as her secondment ends today (Friday April 1).
Sam Stewart took on the temporary role in August 2021, following a challenging few years for the school, during which it received two ‘unacceptable’ Education Scotland reports and was placed 334th out of 340 in a league table of Scottish secondary schools.
However, in a report published in February, after a follow-up visit in December 2021, inspectors said the school is showing signs of improvement since Miss Stewart took leadership.
This week, in a letter addressed to the CGS community, Miss Stewart thanked pupils, staff, parents and carers, partners, the wider local community and the local authority for their ‘overwhelming support’ since she took on the acting role.
‘It has been an absolute privilege to serve this very special community,’ she said, ‘an experience which I can, without a doubt, say has been one of the best of my life.
‘I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of a new direction for the school, one which has had more ups than downs in what remains a challenging time for all.’
Before she took on the acting head teacher role at CGS, Miss Stewart was a depute headteacher at Dunoon Grammar School, to which she will now return.
Dunoon’s head teacher, David Mitchell, will become interim joint head teacher of both it and Campbeltown Grammar School until a permanent head teacher is appointed.
Mr Mitchell will split his week between the two schools, physically basing himself in each school for a different part of each week.
‘When the post of head teacher was advertised,’ said Miss Stewart, a former pupil of Dunoon Grammar School, ‘I knew that personal circumstances had to be carefully considered and, had these circumstances been different, then I may have been in a position to stay on a longer term basis.
‘However, life isn’t always as easy as that but one thing I will be indebted to CGS for is that this special school has fully confirmed my aspiration to be a permanent head teacher one day.’
She added that she remains ‘fully committed’ to CGS beyond her final day at the school, as she will continue to ensure a ‘smooth, thorough’ handover with Mr Mitchell.
She said: ‘As I return to my depute head teacher post at Dunoon Grammar School, Mr Mitchell and I will continue to work together to finalise this handover and ensure CGS goes from strength to strength.’
Miss Stewart added: ‘Finally, to the young people of CGS, I want to say this: you have given me some of the happiest memories of my life.
‘Please remember, you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
‘Have a fantastic Easter holiday, good luck to our senior pupils ahead of final examinations and thank you for everything.’