New principal appointed at Firth Park Academy
Sheffield school welcomes new headteacher after spring half term.
Firth Park Academy has written to parents and carers to let them know they will be welcoming a new principal, who will join the school after the spring half term break. Firth Park, part of the Lift Schools trust, has appointed Mr Nigel Whittle, an experienced Headteacher, who is currently at Waltham Toll Bar Academy in Grimsby.
Over his career in teaching, Mr Whittle has led schools in particularly challenging areas, helping one school in Grimsby to achieve its first ever ‘good’ rating by Ofsted in just three years under his leadership. At the time, Mr Whittle was the youngest Headteacher at a secondary school in the country.
Nigel Whittle began his teaching career as an English teacher in Preston, taking on leadership roles very quickly. He has been a leadership coach since 2010, a Director of Education for a multi-academy trust and most recently, an Executive Principal at Oasis Community Learning in one of the most deprived areas of England. Here, he helped to improve GCSE results for pupils and the school was shortlisted for a ‘School of the Year’ award. Mr Whittle also contributes to education governance as a Governor of a University Technical College in North Lincolnshire.
Nigel advocates excellent education for all, and is passionate about raising standards for children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds, to get the very best and fairest for them.
Nigel Whittle said of his upcoming headship:
“I am thrilled to be joining Firth Park Academy and look forward to bringing my experience to this exciting new chapter. The school has a proud history, and I am eager to work with parents, carers, staff, and the Trust to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Craig Nicholson, Regional Education Director for Lift Schools said:
“We are delighted to have appointed such a strong candidate to lead our community at Firth Park Academy. I look forward to working with Nigel to give every child in every classroom an excellent education, every day.”