A NEW principal has been appointed at a school near Oswestry.

George Budd will take up his new role at Moreton Hall in September after the retirement of Jonathan Forster after 27 years at the school.

“As soon as we first came down the drive in to Moreton and met the staff and girls we knew it was somewhere we would both be very happy," he said.

"We were struck by the independence of thought shown by the girls, the remarkable breadth of achievement of the students, the modern facilities of the school and the strong community feel and so were, naturally, thrilled when I was appointed as principal."

Mr Budd is currently deputy head of Godolphin School, a girls’ only boarding and day school in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

He began his teaching career in the state sector before moving to Lady Eleanor Holles School in 2007 as a geography teacher and later assistant senior teacher, working on partnerships with schools.

In 2010, Mr Budd moved to Sir William Perkins' School as head of geography and then head of Sixth Form before joining Godolphin School as deputy head Academic in 2016.

A keen sportsman, George has spent around 20 years involved with competitive mountain bike racing and hopesg to explore the hills around Moreton in between musical performances, plays, sports matches and other events at the school.

He will be joined at Moreton Hall by his wife, Nicky, who is currently director of sport at Lady Eleanor Holles school and head coach for the England Under-19 lacrosse team.

Mr Budd added: "The school has gone from strength to strength and with the new Holroyd Theatre opening in 2019 is poised to play a core role in the local creative arts community.

"We are both very much looking forward to working with Jonathan and Paula Forster, the staff and governors in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.”

Josh Dixey, chairman of the school governors, said: “I’m very confident that George will not only sustain all the successes of the recent years of Moreton Hall, but will enhance its reputation further.”

This sentiment was echoed by Jonathan Forster: “Both Paula and I are delighted by George’s appointment. We are sure that George and Nicky will play a huge role in developing Moreton’s holistic approach to education.

“The school - that’s pupils and staff – achieves extraordinary things and over the next few months George and Nicky will be able to look and learn what a wonderful school they are joining.”