Wairarapa principal to lead Cambridge High

Cambridge High School has appointed Wairarapa principal Phil McCreery to fill the vacancy left by former head Alison Annan.

Mr McCreery has spent the past eight years working with the Pahiatua community to lift the achievement of students and reduce behaviour issues at Tararua College.

Commissioner Dennis Finn, who has run Cambridge High since Ms Annan's departure, said Mr McCreery had strong curriculum development skills as well as the ability to work well with parents.

"He will be a good leader in support of the school and the community. His steady-as-you-go approach will provide exactly what Cambridge High School needs."

The job has been vacant since Alison Annan resigned last August amid allegations of staff bullying and manipulation of exam results.

The post was first advertised in January but Mr Finn said in March that none of the 17 applicants was appropriate for the job.

Advertising straight after Christmas had been a bad choice and had not drawn as many applications as had been hoped.

"We had some very good applicants but they didn't meet all of our criteria," he said.

"I always knew it was something I would consider very carefully at the time. We are looking very much for the right person for the position."

Some of those interviewed had been shortlisted and would be spoken to again with the next lot of applicants, he said.

Delaying the decision to hire a principal caused "no disruption whatsoever" because acting principal Jim Bennett was doing a good job, he said.

Mr McCreery will start the job at the beginning of term three this year.

- nzpa