Garstang Community Academy: new head appointed after previous senior leader Alasdair Ashcroft quit just days before new term

Satinder Singh, who is from Preston, will take over the helm at the school in the new year after the sudden departure of previous headteacher Alasdair Ashcroft, who stepped down just days before the start of the 2022/23 academic year.

Mr Ashcroft had spent almost 15 years working at the school, the last six as headteacher, but had quit citing "pressures placed on him" becoming too much.

A search to find a successor was quickly put in place after Sean Bullen, Director of Education for Fylde Coast Academy Trust (of which the Garstang school is a part) was appointed interim head back in early September.

Who is the new headteacher at Garstang Community Academy?

Mr Singh was the unanimous choice of the final interviewing panel consisting of Chair of Governors, CEO, Director Education, Director Primary and former Executive Headteacher of Garstang.

Mr Bullen said: “Satinder is a very experienced senior leader, currently Deputy Headteacher at Derby High School in Bury, which gets excellent progress figures.

"He is clearly an expert in the Curriculum and Teaching and Learning, but has also conducted a Behaviour review at his school. He came across as a man of integrity, a local man from Preston wanting to make a difference to a local school and a man of great energy and resilience.”

Mr Singh will be meeting parents and potential parents at a meeting at the academy on Thursday 13th October. He will deliver brief talks at 6pm, 6.30pm, 7pm and 7.30pm.

Why did the previous headteacher step down at Garstang Community Academy?

Alasdair Ashcroft stepped down after six years at the helm last Wednesday (August 31) just days before pupils were due to head back to school.

In a statement, Mr Ashcroft said his jobs required “almost bottomless reserves and energy and resilience”.

Mr Ashcroft added: "Unbelievably, I have spent nearly half my 30 year career at Garstang (High School and then Community Academy); first as Deputy Headteacher for eight years and for the last six years as Headteacher.

"Through many, many highs, and only one or two lows, it has been an absolute privilege and honour to be involved in leading the growth and development of what, I believe, has become a reliably really good community school (better progress made by GCA children than in any other Fylde or Wyre school and better than LRGS the last time these things were actually measured in 2019).

"However, I have found that the pressures placed on me as Headteacher of GCA have required me to have almost bottomless reserves of energy and resilience and, unfortunately, as I am not as young as I once was, the events of the last couple of years have depleted my reserves of both of these to such a degree that I no longer feel in a position to continue to drive this wonderful school forwards, which has always been my goal."

The school was criticised in 2019 after Mr Ashcroft banned water bottles in the classroom saying they distracted pupils from learning. And four months later, a number of pupils were disciplined after they were found were vodka bottles in lessons.