High-achieving new head’s high expectations

PRINCIPAL Nigel Whittle with head boy Abdul Mehmood and head girl Hannah Evans

PRINCIPAL Nigel Whittle has started the academic year in charge of a new school — and with a new daughter.

The birth of his fourth child meant he missed four days of his first term at Oasis Academy Oldham.

Now back in school, Mr Whittle has taken over from David Hayes, who stepped down after four years at the helm of the Hollins secondary.

Originally from Blackpool, Mr Whittle (33) knew he wanted to be a teacher from an early age and explained “I went to a secondary school that wasn’t performing terribly well. It is still in special measures. Part of it was about wanting to provide pupils with the opportunities and the quality of teaching I didn’t get at school.”

Mr Whittle, an English teacher, was selected for the Future Leaders programme, which helps talented individuals to lead schools in underprivileged areas. Three years ago he became the youngest secondary head in the country when he joined Havelock Academy in Grimsby. Under his leadership, the number of pupils achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, rose from 45 to 59 per cent.

The same results at Oasis fell to 25 per cent this summer. Mr Whittle said: “There is a very talented and committed team of people here. The school has made many strides forward and recently came out of special measures. We are going to continue that good work and make sure we have the highest expectations for students.”