Dear parents, guardians, and students,
On Monday morning I let staff at the College know that this will be my last year as Principal at Barton Peveril College and that I will step down on 31 August 2022. By then, I will have completed 14 years as Principal at Barton Peveril, three years previously as the Principal of Richard Taunton Sixth Form College, and 35 years altogether working in education in Hampshire!
I have relished working at Barton Peveril and seen it grow to twice the size it was when I started here and achieve excellent outcomes for its students regardless of background and prior achievement. I have the most outstanding group of colleagues to work with: nurturing, gifted and supportive. It has been a delight to witness the flair, good nature, generosity, and wide ranging skills of our students, and to work in a community which embodies and celebrates its diversity. I have also hugely enjoyed the relationships we have formed with local stakeholders such as schools, colleges and universities, parents, businesses and voluntary organisations, and local and national politicians and government officials. What an amazing part of the world it is in which we have the privilege to live and work.
The College could hardly be in a better state for moving on to the next decade of its activity, with, I’m sure, one or two challenges! The governors, led by our Chair Karen Everett, will be appointing my successor in early February, following adverts over the coming month. I am sure it will attract candidates of an outstanding calibre given the excellence of the College and its location here in Hampshire. Barton Peveril will move from strength to strength.
I will continue to lead the College without compromise on quality of outcomes and student experience until the end of August!
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Prest
Principal
