An incoming headteacher has vowed to make Halstead’s Ramsey Academy the talk of the town.

Rob James, currently acting headteacher at Philip Morant School in Colchester, will take over at the Colne Road school in September.

He has been appointed to replace outgoing Dan Gee, who is leaving after 18 months in charge.

Mr Gee took charge in September 2012, following a damning Ofsted report which led to it being placed in special measures.

Within a year, teachers and pupils were celebrating after Ofsted rated Ramsey as “good” and deemed special monitoring was no longer required.

Mr James, 48, said: “The vision I outlined to governors was a headline ‘The Ramsey Academy, the Halstead school’.

“I want to make it the number one choice, not only for people in Halstead, but the surrounding villages, with excellent results, lots of opportunities for students and plenty of chances to gain the skills to go on to the next stage of their careers.”

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