Chalk up a victory for hero head (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Chalk up a victory for hero head

WOOTTON Bassett School has a hero headteacher. Chris Montacute has been named the West of England's Headteacher of the Year in a secondary school.

He is now through to the national round.

And it was a double celebration for the Montacute family after wife Fiona, headteacher at Randwick School near Stroud, collected the Award for Healthy Schools.

He said: "There was a celebration at home afterwards."

Mr Montacute, 46, who lives near Nailsworth, has been headteacher at the school for four years.

He previously had the same role at Bradon Forest School in Purton.

He said: "I'm really pleased. It's a huge accolade, but this is really about the school and the staff.

"The awards talks about progress within the school but it is really about the extraordinary amount of hard work put in by the staff that has allowed me to be in this position.

"As a headteacher you can't do it by yourself and we have a superb team here at Wootton Bassett School.

"As head, we shouldn't forget that parents are putting a great deal of trust in us.

"We owe it to them to make sure that what we do at least meets their expectations within the school."

Mr Montacute may see himself as just one of a team, but the award citations describe him as a 'visionary headteacher with the ability to bring out the best in people'.

Judges for the awards also described him as 'the consummate professional'.

Mr Montacute is now up against 12 other headteachers at the Teaching Awards 2005 National Ceremony, which takes place on Sunday October 16 at the Theatre Royal in London.

It will be broadcast on BBC2 on the same day.

It was also a big day for Laura Higgins, who is in her second year of teaching.

Laura, 24, from Lea, near Malmesbury, was given a commendation in her category for Outstanding New Teacher.

She said: "It was an amazing day and nothing like I expected.

"I never thought I would get so far, but it was really nice to have one's work recognised."

Perhaps the biggest surprise of her day was to bump into Paul Thompson, her old science teacher from Malmesbury School.

He won an award for lifetime achievement.

She said: "We had some pictures taken together and he told me: 'You're on your way into this career, and I'm on my way out.'

David Andrew